More than 800 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats on Saturday, marking the highest number recorded on a single December day in recent years, according to Home Office figures.
A total of 803 people made the journey in 13 boats and were brought ashore at Dover by Border Force and RNLI vessels. The surge is believed to have been driven by a backlog of migrants waiting to cross after weeks of bad weather made sea journeys impossible.
The latest crossings take the provisional total for 2025 to 41,455 arrivals, already exceeding the full-year figure for 2024, when 36,816 people crossed the Channel. However, the number remains below the record high of 45,755 arrivals recorded in 2022.
A Home Office spokesperson described the crossings as shameful and said the government was taking action, citing the removal of nearly 50,000 people with no legal right to remain in the UK and a recent agreement with France aimed at returning small-boat arrivals.
French authorities said they rescued 151 people over the weekend and returned them to France after intervening in several attempted crossings.
Charities working with migrants in northern France reported unusually high numbers of people in makeshift camps around Calais, following a 28-day spell of rough weather that prevented crossings. With calm sea conditions on Saturday, smugglers reportedly moved quickly to launch overloaded boats.
The government said it is also focusing on tackling people-smuggling networks upstream, including through international cooperation. Germany recently passed new legislation that could see people smugglers jailed for up to 10 years, strengthening joint efforts with the UK to combat organised immigration crime.
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