Surge in crossings despite crackdown
Britain’s border security commander has warned that people-smuggling gangs are rapidly adapting their methods, undermining efforts to cut the number of small-boat crossings across the English Channel.
Martin Hewitt, the UK’s border security chief, told MPs on Thursday that smugglers were now using so-called “taxi boats” to cram record numbers of people on board – with up to 125 migrants on a single vessel.
The tactic involves launching inflatable boats some distance from the shore and having migrants wade out to board, allowing smugglers to load more people than if they were launched directly from the beach.
“The highest we’ve had latterly is 125, which is extraordinary and incredibly dangerous for those migrants,” Hewitt told the Commons home affairs select committee.
He said the average number of people per boat had risen from 53 in 2024 to 60 this year, as smugglers exploit overcrowding to offset tougher enforcement.
Rising numbers and shifting control
The warning comes amid mounting political pressure on Sir Keir Starmer’s government, which pledged to “smash the gangs” facilitating Channel crossings.
Despite that promise, arrivals in 2025 are close to surpassing last year’s total of 36,816, according to official figures.
Hewitt said smugglers had regained control of the trade after briefly losing it in 2024, when migrants from Eritrea and Ethiopia began storming boats without paying, leading to violence and a surge in fatalities.
According to the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, 73 people died attempting the crossing last year. Smugglers have since offered discounted crossings to African migrants to restore order and avoid further clashes.
French response and future measures
Hewitt said French authorities were developing a “new maritime doctrine” to intercept taxi boats before they leave the French coast, though he did not disclose details. He described the continued high numbers as “frustrating” and “challenging,” warning there would be no quick fix.
“This was always going to take time,” he said.
Rob Jones, operations chief at the National Crime Agency, told MPs that officials were exploring regulatory action to disrupt the supply of the inflatable boats used by smugglers.
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has called small-boat migration the government’s “most pressing political priority”, warning this week that European nations had “lost control of their borders” – a failure she said risked eroding public trust.
