London, Sep 24 UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered an “urgent review” after two boats carrying hundreds of illegal migrants landed on the country’s shores over two consecutive days this week.
The Cabinet minister, of South Asian heritage, said in a statement on Wednesday that it was “not acceptable” that the UK’s Border Force had failed to stop the boatloads before they reached the Kent coast on Monday and Tuesday.
It came after the Border Security Command detained 21 people following a boat arrival on the beach of Samphire Hoe in Dover.
“Our improved monitoring has led to uncontrolled crossings becoming incredibly rare, but even one is one too many,” said Mahmood.
“That is why I have ordered an urgent review by the Border Security Command into how this happened, and what must be done to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” she said.
Amid mounting criticism from the Opposition Conservatives, the minister said that new tactics adopted by people smugglers, including launching small boats from much further west in France, were “a reminder of two things”.
“Firstly, these gangs have no regard for human life. They are putting people on increasingly long and dangerous crossings. Secondly, our efforts are having an impact. We are making it much harder for gangs to launch vessels, forcing them to change their approach, and as a result we are significantly reducing the numbers coming here by small boat,” she said.
Thousands of migrants crossing the English Channel from France are usually brought to shore by Border Security Command or Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) boats, with more uncontrolled landings of this nature rare.
Before the crisis this week, the records show only one small boat carrying illegal migrants landing ashore without an escort – in September last year.
A UK government spokesperson said: “Border Security Command officers alongside Kent police have been responding to an incident in Dover.
“Twenty-one individuals have already been detained under a swift enforcement response. There is a thorough investigation ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
UK shadow home secretary Chris Philp dubbed the landings a “complete free for all” because the Labour government had lost track of who is coming into the country.
“Our border security has descended into chaos, with illegal immigrants crossing at will over ever larger distances and in ever larger boats. This latest fiasco shows that the French are not even trying to stop the illegal immigrants’ boats in French waters; instead, they are escorting them here,” said Philp.
An estimated 17,784 migrants have arrived in the UK illegally after crossing the Channel in small boats so far this year.
However, the total for 2026 is down 45 per cent compared to last year – something the Prime Minister Andy Burnham-led government is keen to focus on.
(PTI News)
