Home Office figures show that Wednesday, 23 September 2026, was the busiest day of the year for small boat crossings in the Channel. A total of 781 people arrived on 10 separate boats.
This figure is the highest daily total recorded since 803 people arrived on 20 December 2025. The cumulative number of arrivals for 2026 to date stands at 18,565, which is 42% lower than the total for the same period in 2025.
Among the arrivals was a dinghy carrying 51 people that departed from Normandy on Monday morning and was at sea for more than 33 hours. British rescue boats were dispatched after French coastguards reported that those on board had declined their assistance.
Labour Party deputy leader Lucy Powell stated that the government had "significantly reduced" the number of small boat arrivals through "a huge amount of work." She told BBC Radio Kent that steps were being taken, including providing extra resources and new legislation, to reduce crossings.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticised the government's approach, suggesting that the only way to stop crossings was to deport all illegal immigrants on arrival. Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson called for the government to "tackle the root cause by entering the EU's landmark migration and asylum pact."