Single dinghy carrying 61 migrants in freezing conditions becomes first small boat to cross the Channel in 2025 – after more than 36,000 asylum seekers made journey_Nhy
A single dinghy carrying 61 migrants has become the first small boat this year to be caught trying to cross the Channel.
People smugglers crammed the migrants into a tiny boat and sent the vessel on its way despite yesterday’s freezing conditions.
They were reportedly taking advantage of a narrow window in the weather to make the treacherous crossing.
The boat was intercepted as they were making the crossing before it was brought into the Port of Dover in Kent on board a Border Force catamaran and taken through the immigration processing centre at the Western Docks.
The migrants are the first to make the voyage since December 29 when four people died after their dinghy got into difficulty off the French coast at Sangatte near Calais.
Three were confirmed dead that day but a fourth body was found off the beach at Sangatte the next day.
A total of 36,816 in 695 boats made the crossing in 2024 – the second highest annual number since records began seven years ago.
A record 45,755 were brought ashore in 2022. 23,303 in 424 boats have now been picked up in the Dover Straits since Labour came into power in July last year.
The first migrants of 2025 have been intercepted by officials trying to cross the Channel
Images yesterday showed dozens of migrants being picked up at sea by Border Force and arriving in Dover aboard a patrol vessel
Newly-released figures showed nearly 37,000 migrants arrived on small boats last year
Migrants are often being handed poor quality lifejackets, including ones that do not work in deep water or are designed for children. One group was seen holding rubber rings.
Another factor that is believed to be driving the rise in deaths is the use of riskier crossing routes, with smugglers leaving from a wider area of the French coast to try and avoid patrols.
The Refugee Council said on Friday that ministers seem to have ‘accepted that enforcement action against the smuggling gangs has made the journeys more dangerous’.
The charity said the Government, jointly with the French, should publish quarterly data on the numbers who have died, including their age, sex and nationality.
It also urged ministers to produce a plan for reducing lives lost, and to set out a plan for reviewing and expanding safe and legal routes to the UK.
CEO Enver Solomon said: ‘The record number of deaths in the Channel this year should serve as a stark reminder that the current approach is not working.
‘Smuggling gangs are profiting from men, women and children forced into life-threatening conditions, and enforcement measures alone are not enough to address this.
‘More safe and legal routes are needed to provide a lifeline for those fleeing war and persecution…
Border Force officials picked up the migrants at sea as they attempted to cross the Channel
‘The Government needs to take a different approach if it is to ensure everything possible is done so that 2025 does not see a repeat of last year’s devastating loss.’
This week the Home Office unveiled new plans to hand travel and social media bans to suspected people smugglers in a bid to dismantle organised immigration crime networks.
Ministers will accelerate the process for placing restrictions on those being investigated through the use of ‘interim’ Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs).
Suspects could be banned from travelling, prevented from accessing their phone or money and barred from associating with certain individuals.
The Home Office said the approach, which will form part of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, will help to crack down on people smugglers at an early stage.
Interim orders could also be used to tackle a range of other organised-crime offences, including drug trafficking, fraud and prostitution, which are already covered by SCPOs.
SCPOs are court orders that can prevent, restrict or disrupt a person’s involvement in serious crime.
Securing a full SCPO can be a lengthy process, but the new interim version will enable action while the maximum order is considered.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (pictured) previously said: ‘Dangerous criminal people-smugglers are profiting from undermining our border security and putting lives at risk. ‘They can not be allowed to get away with it’
The National Crime Agency police and other law-enforcement agencies will be able to apply to the High Court to impose immediate restrictions.
Interim orders can be issued without a conviction and breaching one could lead to up to five years in prison.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper previously said: ‘Dangerous criminal people-smugglers are profiting from undermining our border security and putting lives at risk.
‘They can not be allowed to get away with it. Stronger international collaboration has already led to important arrests and action against dangerous gangs over the last few months.
‘We will give law enforcement stronger powers they need to pursue and stop more of these vile gang networks.
‘Border security is one of the foundations of this Government’s Plan for Change, including making people better off, delivering safer streets and strengthening our NHS, and we will do everything in our power to deliver for working people.’
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
‘The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.’
