The number of Channel migrants who have crossed into Britain since December 2018 has surpassed the total number of active British military personnel and reservists, GB News can exclusively reveal.
Rising to over 181,326 migrants as of September 7, 2025, illegal migrants arriving via small boats now exceed the personnel in the Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force - collectively totalling 180,779.
Research by leading think tank Migration Watch and shared with GB News, shows 181,326 migrants have been intercepted attempting to cross the Channel in small boats since December 2018.
Analysis of this Channel migrant data reveals that almost 90 per cent of people crossing the Channel are male.
The number of Channel migrants who have crossed into Britain since December 2018 has surpassed the amount of active British military personnel and reservists, GB News can exclusively reveal
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Some 67 per cent are aged between 18 and 39 - so-called “military age men”.
The scale of illegal small boat crossings has raised concerns about the threat to vulnerable people in the UK, as well as to national security more broadly.
Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp MP, has previously said illegal immigrants crossing the Channel are from nationalities 24 times more likely to be convicted and imprisoned than UK citizens.
In 2023, it was reported that nineteen suspected terrorists, affiliated with groups including the Islamic State and al-Shabaab, had entered Britain by crossing the Channel in small boats.
“Military age men are pouring into Britain across the Channel,” Migration Watch chairman Alp Mehmet said.
“Enforcing a border is the most basic responsibility of a Government, but Keir Starmer has failed to do even that.
“Illegal Channel crossings are now a major political crisis, and pose a real and present threat to our national security.”
GB News revelation comes in the wake of the new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood facing a shocking introduction to the small boats crisis, with more than 1,000 migrants crossing the Channel illegally on her first full day in office.
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Around 674 crossed the Channel on Tuesday, September 9 with another 188 making the journey overnight on Thursday.
GB News provisional figures show that 31,027 migrants have now crossed the English Channel so far this year.
That figure compares to just over 23,000 at the same point last year, and is just over 5,000 away from passing the total number of crossings for the whole of 2024.
As many as 2,023 migrants arrived by migrant dinghy in the first four days Ms Mahmood took charge at the Home Office.
GB News provisional figures show that 31,027 migrants have now crossed the English Channel so far this year
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Ms Mahmood is now faced with attempting to get a grip on a crisis that saw her predecessor fail in her efforts to reduce Channel crossings.
Under Yvette Cooper's watch, more than 52,000 migrants made the illegal journey in just 14 months.
Shabana Mahmood Home Secretary, said: “These small boats crossings are utterly unacceptable and the vile people smugglers behind them are wreaking havoc on our borders.
"Thanks to our deal with France, people crossing in small boats can now be detained and removed to France and I expect the first returns to take place imminently.
"Protecting the UK border is my priority as Home Secretary and I will explore all options to restore order to our immigration system."