For the first time, French police have moved against ‘small boat’ Channel crossings by puncturing the vessels in coastal waters. Previously, citing safety concerns, such action was restricted to unaccompanied ribbed dinghies found on land.
UK home secretary Yvette Cooper reportedly ‘welcomes’ the measures, against the backdrop of a record high number of crossings and a growing belief that the problem is out of control. Cooper also praised this previously unmatched level of cooperation with the French authorities.
Police in France were given new powers as part of an effort to curb the activity, including the capacity to intercept small boats up to 300 metres from the shore.
Fresh arrivals on the morning of July 4th, 2025—when the new powers came into effect—took the known total of illegal migrants arriving on the English coast to more than 44,000 in the year since Keir Starmer’s Labour government took office.
