More migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year than in the whole of 2024, Sky News understands

While the exact number of people who have made the crossing today is not set to be published until tomorrow, Home Office sources have confirmed that more than 36,816 people – the total for 2024 – have now crossed the Channel so far in 2025.

This year has consistently seen higher numbers of small boat arrivals than at the same points in 2024.

There was a 50% increase in the first six months of the year compared with the same period the previous year, with 19,982 from 1 January to 1 July 2025, and 13,489 in the same period in 2024.

The 2025 half-year figure set a record high for the first six months of a year since records began in 2018.

Last year, the 2023 total was also reached in October.

However, 2022 remains the highest annual total so far, with 45,755 migrant crossings.

Sir Keir Starmer has made it his mission to “smash the gangs” responsible for getting people from countries around the world to France and across the Channel to the UK on small boats.

A “one in, one out” agreement with Paris has seen 42 illegal migrants removed to France, while the UK has accepted 16 asylum seekers in return.

However, this year’s record-breaking figures and a rise in support for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK have placed pressure on the prime minister to do more.

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