English Channel migrant crossings and policing

At the time of the crossing, 165 people was the largest number recorded on a single small boat crossing the Channel.

Government figures show the number of people crossing into the UK since January has fallen compared with 2025.

Atak steered the roughly 14-metre dinghy for at least 90 minutes on July 23 with 165 people on board, including 31 children aged between 14 and 17.

Survivors reported that 77 people were on board the boat when it sank near the island of Gavdos.

The 51 rescued people were due to be brought to Crete.

One person died after a boat carrying migrants sank off a Greek island near Crete.

A UK inquiry published in February found that some of the deaths were avoidable and concluded that a French naval vessel failed to respond to an alert from the UK coastguard.

Prosecutors accused the defendants of launching a substandard small boat that was uncertified, unfit for navigation on the open sea, overcrowded, and lacking appropriate life jackets.

Two men survived the incident, and four others were left unaccounted for.

Hundreds of masked men shut down UK ports over the weekend of September 8, 2026.

Al Jazeera's Lina-Serene reported on the masked anti-migrant protesters in the UK.

Al Jazeera published the article on September 8, 2026.

Twenty-seven bodies were found after the boat sank, and another four were confirmed missing.

In November 2021, at least 30 people drowned when their motorised dinghy deflated and started taking on water halfway between France and the UK.

Fourteen suspected people smugglers have gone on trial in Paris for their role in the worst ever small boats disaster in the English Channel.

Protesters blocked roads near the waterfront in Portsmouth.

Protesters chanted 'stop the boats'.

Anti-immigration protesters clashed with police in Portsmouth, southern England.

Officials originally said that about 140 migrants were aboard the boat that landed in Portsmouth.

Nigel Farage said he supported peaceful protest but criticized the group for disguising themselves and dressing like paramilitaries.

Sarah Jones is the policing minister.

Policing Minister Sarah Jones described the disorder on Sunday night as "intimidating and thuggish".

120 migrants arrived in a single dinghy, sparking a protest in Portsmouth.

A total of 16,513 people arrived in the UK in small boats in the year to 1 September, which is 43% lower than the same period the previous year.

Hundreds of masked people blocked traffic at England's port of Dover on Saturday, halting ferry traffic between France and the UK.

Migrant channel crossings dropped 40% between January and August 2026 compared to the previous year.

The Reform UK party has used the perceived threat of migrant boats as a rallying cry.

Images shared online showed dozens of demonstrators dressed in black and wearing balaclavas streaming onto roads surrounding the port in the United Kingdom on Saturday.

P&O Ferries confirmed that access to the port had been restored.

At around noon, port managers said traffic was free flowing once again.

The cameraman required stitches after being struck above the eye by a rock thrown by a smuggler.

Gangs are now quoting up to €2,000 (£1,700) per person for Channel crossings, up from around €1,300 a year ago.

Smuggling gangs are running low on small boats, leading rival criminal groups to work together by loading more migrants on fewer, larger vessels.

Six-year-old Saja el-Khawas died in hospital following a water incident on Tuesday.

The Palestinian Forum in Britain organized a gathering to commemorate the family on Thursday.

Sussex police stated that the working theory is that the incident was a tragic accident with no third-party involvement.

French border police clashed with migrants in northern France on Friday while intercepting a small boat attempting to reach the UK.

The UK Home Office stated that police border patrols in northern France have increased migrant boat seizures in recent months.