Alarming new figures show 2025 saw an increase in illegal immigration – despite Labour’s bold vows to “smash the boats”.
Small boat crossings have soared in 2025 (Image: Getty)
Labour’s illegal immigration “smash the gangs” vow has been branded “a disaster” – as small-boat arrivals hit a three-year high. And damningly, the government has admitted a total of 41,472 migrants made the perilous crossing in 2025 – up 13% rise on the 36,566 in 2024 – was “shameful”.
Meanwhile, under the so-called one-in one-out deal agreed with France in August, 193 migrants were sent back and 195 arrived. The near 41,500 migrants making the crossing from France – a European safe haven – prompted an angry response from appalled Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
He slammed the astronomical figure, saying it made a mockery of PM Sir Keir Starmer’s promise to break up people-smuggling networks.
Mr Farage said: “Smash the gangs is a disaster, the one-in, one-out deal is a farce and the numbers coming over are huge. Many of the young men that have arrived last year will do us great harm.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said quitting the European Convention on Human Rights was the only way to take effective action.
He stressed: “There is no deterrent and anyone who crosses the Channel knows they can invoke human rights law and remain indefinitely. Labour lack the backbone to confront that truth.”
In terms of recent arrivals – despite freezing weather conditions – figures from the Home Office showed 737 people arrived on December 13, and more than 600 more in the following four days.
A total of 803 people arrived in 13 boats on December 21, a record for a single day in December. The last arrivals of 2025 were on December 22, when 17 people were brought ashore at Dover.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced tougher asylum reforms in November to try to deter arrivals. The proposals, not yet law, sparked a backlash from some Labour MPs.
A Home Office spokesperson admitted: “The number of small boat crossings are shameful and the British people deserve better.
“This government is taking action. We have removed almost 50,000 people who were here illegally, and our historic deal with the French means those who arrive on small boats are now being sent back.
“The Home Secretary has announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in decades, removing the incentives that bring illegal migrants to the UK and scaling up the return of those with no right to be here.”
Sir Keir Starmer under pressure (Image: Getty)
Charities estimate that at least 36 people died trying to make the journey last year, including an eight-year-old girl and her mother, who were crushed on a boat in May, the Mirror reports.
The number of arrivals in 2025 has heaped pressure on Sir Keir Starmer’s government, having entered office in July 2024 with a repeated vow to “smash the gangs” and reduce the number of crossings. Almost 65,000 migrants have arrived since then.
The UK’s Border Security Commander, Martin Hewitt, tasked with curbing Channel crossings, told MPs in October that the number of arrivals in 2025 was “frustrating” but that work to stop the smuggling route was “always going to take time”.
But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the measures did not go far enough, adding that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was necessary to address the problem.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Most men, women and children taking these journeys have fled oppressive regimes like the Taliban in Afghanistan and brutal civil wars in countries like Sudan.
“No-one risks their life on a flimsy boat in the Channel except out of desperation to be safe in a country where they have family or community connections.
“It’s right the government wants to stop Channel crossings but plans that will punish people found to be refugees are unfair and not an effective deterrent.”
He added that there needs to be a “multi-pronged approach”, including targeting gangs and international cooperation to ensure refugees can access safe and legal routes – something Ms Mahmood has included in plans to overhaul the asylum system.
