Nearly 800 migrants cross English Channel in single day to set 2026 record

Nearly 800 migrants cross English Channel in single day to set 2026 record Nearly 19,000 people have arrived on small boats so far this year - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in A total of 781 migrants arrived in the UK on Wednesday after crossing the English Channel, marking the highest single-day figure recorded so far this year. Provisional Home Office data shows that overall small boat arrivals for 2026 have now reached 18,565. This represents a 42 per cent decrease compared to the same point in 2025, when the cumulative total stood at 32,188. The figure is also 26 per cent lower than at this stage in 2024, which recorded 25,165 arrivals. Ten vessels made the crossing on Wednesday, which suggests an average of 78 passengers per boat. On Wednesday, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review after a second migrant boat evaded Border Force and reached the Kent coast in as many days. Twenty-one people were detained on Tuesday afternoon after a boat arrived on the beach at Samphire Hoe, Dover. On Monday, a dinghy made it to shore at Folkestone undetected – the first such incident since September 2025. Ms Mahmood called the failure to intercept the boats “not acceptable”. However, Education Secretary Lucy Powell later said “(you) can’t stop everything all of the time” when questioned about the incidents. Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if the situation was embarrassing for the government, she responded: “(You) can’t stop everything all of the time. “Of course, it’s a concern. That’s why the home secretary has demanded and ordered this urgent review, because this is not what we want to see. This is not acceptable. “But the overall picture is an improving picture. It is hard, difficult work that requires constant, constant effort by our border forces, our security services, police, our partnerships with France and other countries. “This is a mammoth and huge task, which is now starting to reap some dividends. But of course, you know where there are still issues arising, we must absolutely tackle them.” Ms Powell later said that her remarks had been taken out of context. “We are clamping down on small boat crossings every single day… we are sucking the oxygen out of it, we are taking steps, and there are many, many steps,” she said. “It’s not an easy thing to do to just turn on a switch, turn off a switch overnight. We have to constantly evolve.” Subscribe here to get the latest updates from The Independent.