Almost 1,000 small boat migrants arrive on British shores in just SIX days after making use of warmer weather

Border Force vessels responded to multiple migrant dinghy sightings across the day.

The first group of migrants were brought to the Border Force processing centre at Dover harbour just after midday.

GB News counted 62 migrants as they were taken off the Border Force vessel Defender.

The last dinghy was intercepted earlier this evening, and 71 migrants brought to Dover onboard the Border Force vessel Typhoon.

An improvement in weather conditions since last Wednesday saw multiple small boat arrivals on five of the last six days.

A total of 17 small boats made it across to the UK side of the English Channel over that period, carrying a total of 982 migrants, according to GB News provisional figures.

Weather conditions have closed in again this evening, making the Channel impassable for migrant dinghies until later in the week.

Maritime security sources told GB News that late Thursday night into Friday could see a fresh surge in illegal migrant arrivals.

The spike in crossings comes as the Government faces mounting pressure to reset its approach to Channel migration, with a key agreement with France due to expire at the end of the month. Ministers have insisted both countries remain aligned in their efforts to curb the dangerous journeys, amid ongoing negotiations over a renewed deal.

Downing Street said it was seeking to secure “long-term value for money” from any new arrangement, after the previous £478 million package – agreed in 2023 – funded additional patrols and infrastructure on the French coast, including plans for a new detention centre.

Despite those measures, crossings have continued to rise, with more than 41,000 people arriving via small boats in 2025 alone.

So far this year, over 4,000 migrants have already made the journey, underlining the scale of the challenge facing ministers.

The Home Secretary is understood to be pushing for tougher conditions in any renewed agreement, including performance-related clauses that would tie funding to the number of boats intercepted before reaching UK waters. A Home Office delegation is expected in Paris this week for talks, although officials have declined to set out how much the UK is prepared to pay.

Government sources point to tens of thousands of attempted crossings prevented in recent years as evidence of cooperation with French authorities, but acknowledge more needs to be done to deter departures.