Overview

• More than 16,300 migrants have crossed the Channel so far in 2025, a 43% increase from the same period last year.
• Downing Street has admitted for the first time that the small-boat crisis in the Channel is deteriorating.
• French police have fired tear gas and deployed riot shields at Gravelines beach to disrupt departures, but migrants continue to board dinghies.
• Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron agreed at the G7 summit to pursue high-ambition border security outcomes and to convene a dedicated UK-France summit in July.
• The UK government is considering tying visa privileges to return agreements and has pledged to dismantle the people-smuggling gangs behind the crossings.