More than 800 people crossed the English Channel in small boats on Saturday, marking what is believed to be the highest single-day total for December.
Official figures show that 803 people made the journey from northern France in 13 dinghies, pushing the total number of Channel crossings so far this year to 41,455. That figure makes 2025 the second-highest year on record, behind only 2022, when 45,774 people crossed.
It was the largest daily total since 8 October, when 1,075 people arrived in the UK. So far this month, 2,163 people have crossed, approaching last December’s record of 3,254 arrivals.
A vessel operated by Border Force was seen bringing people into Dover on Saturday morning following incidents in the Channel, after what officials described as a busy night of attempted crossings.
The spike came after a four-week lull, during which the Home Office recorded no arrivals between 15 November and 12 December — the longest uninterrupted pause since records began in 2018. December is typically one of the quietest months for crossings due to poor weather conditions.
French police were involved in clashes with migrants attempting to launch boats near Calais in the early hours of Saturday. Footage showed gendarmes using tear gas against a group of around 30 people gathered along a riverbank in Grand-Fort-Philippe.
Despite the recent surge, overall arrivals remain below the record levels seen in 2022, although numbers rose steadily during the first ten months of the year.
The Labour government has stepped up efforts to curb small boat crossings through closer cooperation with European partners. France has agreed to begin intercepting small boats in the Channel after sustained pressure from the UK, under a policy shift that allows security forces to stop vessels at sea before migrants are taken on board.
Meanwhile, Germany has passed new legislation that could see people smugglers face prison sentences of up to 10 years for attempting to facilitate crossings to the UK. The law, due to come into force before the end of the year, is intended to strengthen enforcement powers and improve intelligence sharing between British and German authorities.
