Channel Crossings Resume After 10-Day Hiatus
Nearly 500 migrants arrived in the UK on Thursday, marking a significant increase despite a year-on-year decrease in overall crossings.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Callum Smith
Four hundred ninety-four migrants arrived in the UK on Thursday, ending a 10-day pause in Channel crossings.
The total number of Channel crossings this year now stands at 16,391, a 43% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Despite this overall reduction, small boat arrivals constituted 40% of asylum applications between July 2025 and June 2026.
People from Eritrea accounted for 18% of all arrivals during that same period.
Another 4,712 individuals were detected entering the UK without permission through other methods from July 2025 to June 2026, a 17% decrease from the previous year.
That is why I have boosted enforcement on the French beaches and overseas and introduced new legislation to tackle the pull factors that draw people here through unsafe and illegal routes.
The total number of people arriving is understood to be down overall this year, even as dozens of illegal immigrants reportedly crossed the English Channel for a second consecutive day.