EXCLUSIVE: Migration Watch’s Alp Mehmet believes illegal Channel crossers “should be detained on arrival, processed quickly and removed”, arguing: “It is the only way to stop the boats”.
GRAVELINES, FRANCE – AUGUST 25: People try to board a migrant dinghy into the English Channel on Aug (Image: Getty Images)
Almost 90% of all men attempting to cross the English Channel illegally so far this year are of fighting age, Home Office data obtained by the Express has revealed. The revelation has shocked one campaigner, who claimed the only solution was to detain migrants on arrival and remove them from the UK as soon as possible.
The latest Channel crossing figures for 2025 underline why the debate over Britain’s borders is intensifying. According to figures released in accordance with a Freedom of Information request, of males making the journey so far this year, 88.2% were aged 18–45, the so-called “fighting age,” a proportion which dwarfs minors and older adults
Nigel Farage at Reform’s annual conference at the weekend (Image: Getty)
Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “So, nearly 90% of those now crossing the Channel illegally are single men under the age of 45.
“Few, if any, have documents to back up who they say they are and why they are coming. And yet, we take them in, make them comfortable and most likely allow them to stay, house them and ultimately let them bring their families.”
Mr Mehmet continued: “No wonder they go on coming in record numbers. Meanwhile, the taxpayer foots the bill, faces the risks and suffers the consequences.
“Illegal Channel crossers should be detained on arrival, processed quickly and removed. It is the only way to stop the boats.”
A graph illustrating the large proportion of fighting age men crossing the English Channel (Image: Express)
So far in 2025, the Channel is being crossed overwhelmingly by young men, who make up 16,981 of the 19569 arrivals.
In terms of women, the number in that age bracket – 2,820 – is 78% of the overall total – 3,615.
Combined, adults aged 18–45 make up 86.8% of all crossings this year, while minors total 1,959 and over-46s just 629.
The picture is clear: the flow is dominated by fit, mobile men, with women present but less concentrated, and the very young and older adults a small fraction.
The situation is not new. In 2021, men aged 18–45 made up 82.5% of male crossings (20,937 individuals), while women in that group were 65% (5,179).
Another graph illustrates the disparity between men and women (Image: Express)
Minors still accounted for 15.5% of men and 31% of women, showing a far broader age spread. By 2022, men in the fighting-age bracket hit a raw number peak of 31,900, with 7,024 women aged 18–45, with the trend toward young men intensifying.
The following year saw 22,100 men (77.6%) and 5,431 women (67%) aged 18–45, while 2024 reversed the dip in men’s numbers: 29,701 men (82.1%) and 6,921 women (74%) crossed.
Across 2021–2025, the Channel has carried 126,878 adults aged 18–45, versus 26,465 minors and 4,376 over-46s, out of 157,719 total crossings.
Men consistently dominate the prime-age group, women contribute significantly but never to the same degree, and children and older adults are a shrinking minority.
The implications are immediate with coastal communities and authorities are confronting flows almost entirely made up of young men, fuelling political outrage and calls for stronger border enforcement.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has frequently voiced his concerns abou “fighting-age men” crossing the waterway.
Speaking last month, the MP for Clacton said his party, which is leading in national opinion polls, would remove Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), repeal the Human Rights Act and disapply other international treaties that have been used to block the forced deportation of asylum seekers.
He added: “We are not far away from major civil disorder,” Farage said at a press conference. “It is an invasion, as these young men illegally break into our country.”
Express.co.uk has contacted Reform, shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp and the Home Office for comment.
