UK Small Boat Crossings Fall 43% Year-on-Year, but Over 2,000 Arrive Since Burnham Took Office

Provisional figures show 14,526 people crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2026 so far, down 43% from 25,436 by the same point in 2025. Yet 2,057 have arrived since Andy Burnham became prime minister on July 20, including 752 on July 30 — the busiest single day of the year. National Crime Agency officers targeting immigration crime more than doubled to nearly 800.