Overview

• Over 50,000 people have reached Britain in small boats since Sir Keir Starmer became prime minister, hitting the milestone faster than under any predecessor.
• Early August saw the operational launch of the pilot scheme, with initial detentions aimed at referring around 50 arrivals per week to France within days.
• Border Force examined a record 107-passenger dinghy in Dover; security sources report that traffickers have begun using larger, 18-metre inflatables to increase crossing capacity.
• Shadow ministers Chris Philp and Robert Jenrick encountered machete threats and bottle-throwing at French migrant camps and accused local authorities of neglecting patrols at launch sites.
• Protests at the Britannia International Hotel and other asylum-housing sites have led to arrests and police investigations into reported assaults and breaches of dispersal orders.