People smuggling gangs 'taking advantage' as migrant Channel crossings pass 10,000 (2025)

People smuggling gangs are “taking advantage” of the warm weather, the Home Secretary has said as the number of migrants crossing the English Channel passed 10,000 in record time.

Some 473 people arrived in Britain in small boats on Monday, bringing the total for 2025 so far to 10,358 people, according to Home Office data.

It is the earliest point in the calendar year that the milestone has ever been reached. Last year the figure of 10,000 was not reached until May 24, while in 2023 it was June 17.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on Tuesday said that gangs have been "taking advantage of the much higher number of calm weather days".

Asked whether she thought she was doing a good job of stopping crossings, she told Times Radio: "The boats are high and this is undermining border security, it's putting lives at risk.

"It's why it's so essential to take action on the criminal gangs that are underpinning this vile trade in people."

Ms Cooper added that the situation "cannot continue" where "the impact on our border security of the weather is so significant".

Data on Channel crossings was first collected in 2018.

The current total for 2025 (10,358 people) is up 45% on the number recorded at this point last year (7,167) and 79% higher than the same point in 2023 (5,799).

The figures come as the Government has vowed to crack down on people smuggling across the Channel by handing counter-terror style powers to police.

Law enforcement agencies are also intensifying collaboration with France and other countries to dismantle the criminal gang business models.

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Ms Cooper also told BBC Breakfast new tactics would come in over the next few months after persuading the French government to change their rules to allow police to intervene in more crossing attempts where migrants are already in the water.

Ms Cooper added: “We’ve now persuaded the French government to change their rules, to change their laws effectively, so that the French police can intervene with those boats and prevent people getting on them.”

But shadow home secretary Chris Philp said of the milestone: “Britain’s borders are being torn apart under Labour.

“This year is already the worst on record for small boat crossings after over 10,000 illegal immigrants arrived in Britain, but Labour just sit on their hands.”

A 24-week target for first-tier immigration tribunals to decide on the appeals of those living in asylum seeker hotels will also be enforced in a bid to cut the asylum backlog.

But the Law Society of England and Wales raised concerns that the target will be “unworkable” in practice as the justice system is already struggling to cope with current demand.

Yvette Cooper

English Channel

Chris Philp

Immigration

France