Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered an urgent review after two migrant boats reached Kent beaches without being intercepted at sea. The vessels came ashore at Samphire Hoe, between Dover and Folkestone, on Tuesday, and near Folkestone on Monday.
Twenty-one people were detained on Tuesday after the arrival at Samphire Hoe. Five people were also detained on Monday following the landing near Folkestone, which was the first undetected landing for a year. The Home Office has not stated whether more people are being sought.
Before Monday, no small boats had been officially recorded as arriving in the UK without an escort since 6 September 2025. Uncontrolled landings of migrants in the UK are rare; the incident in 2025 was the only other one recorded since the Home Office began keeping data in 2023.
A government spokesperson confirmed that Border Security Command officers and Kent Police responded to an incident in Dover, with 21 individuals detained. Officials stated that those detained were taken to Western Jet Foil for processing.
The uncontrolled arrivals follow Border Security Command's suggestion that such incidents were a thing of the past due to new surveillance technology and improved resources. On Tuesday, 154 migrants arrived in three boats, with one being an uncontrolled landing, bringing the total number of migrants arriving in the UK this year to 17,784. This figure is down 44.7% compared to 22 September 2025, when 32,188 migrants had arrived.