Overview

• Official figures show more than 30,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year, roughly 40% higher than the same period in 2024 and a record for this point in the year.
• Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood called the numbers “absolutely unacceptable” and is expected to set out a new approach soon.
• Ministers plan to shift asylum seekers from hotels into barracks on former military sites; about 32,000 people were in hotels at the end of June, and The Telegraph reports dozens of roughly 200 hotels could be cleared in the coming months.
• Napier Barracks in Folkestone and MDP Wethersfield in Essex are already in use, drawing criticism from advocacy groups over prison-like conditions and fueling protests against hotel housing, some of which have turned violent.
• London is pursuing stronger returns cooperation with European partners, with The Telegraph reporting talks with Germany and coverage noting a France agreement, while the UK recorded more than 111,000 asylum applications and net migration above 430,000 in the year to June.