UK migrant arrivals on small boats hit record levels

A record 28,076 migrants have crossed the English Channel to the UK in small boats so far this year, government figures show, marking a 46% increase compared with the same period in 2024.

The rise in arrivals has intensified public debate over immigration, with demonstrations continuing outside hotels housing asylum seekers, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

On August 24 alone, 212 migrants arrived in four separate boats.

The Labour government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has pledged to phase out the use of hotels for asylum accommodation by 2029 and to reform the asylum system.

On Sunday, the Home Office announced measures aimed at speeding up appeals and reducing a backlog of more than 100,000 cases.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the reforms were intended to restore “control and order” to what she described as a system “in complete chaos.”

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform UK party, has called for mass deportations of migrants arriving in small boats.

His proposals include leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, barring asylum claims, and building detention centres for up to 24,000 people.

Farage said he would seek repatriation agreements with countries including Afghanistan and Eritrea, and arrange daily deportation flights.

By Aghakazim Guliyev