Border Security and Asylum Minister Anna Turley has said Channel crossings this summer fell to their lowest combined June-to-August level since 2019, arguing that tougher enforcement and closer cooperation with France are beginning to disrupt people-smuggling gangs.
Turley said crossings were down sharply compared with the same months last year, with June falling by 50%, July by 64% and August by 46%.
She said:
“Summer Channel crossings are at a seven-year low — the lowest combined June-August total since 2019.”
Turley added:
“UK-French action is stopping the gangs, boats and crossings. Serious enforcement works.”
The latest figures build on official Home Office data showing that small-boat arrivals in the year to June 2026 were 23% lower than the previous year, falling from 43,309 to 33,374. Summer crossing totals were also the lowest for June to August since 2019.
UK-France cooperation intensified
The Government has made cooperation with France a central part of its border-security strategy.
A new agreement signed in April increased the number of French officers, surveillance capabilities and intelligence resources dedicated to preventing departures from the French coast.
Between late April and early August, French officers prevented 185 attempted small-boat crossing events, stopping more than 4,300 people from reaching UK shores. The prevention rate over that period reached 61%, according to French authorities.
The operation has included direct interventions on beaches, seizure of boats and engines, arrests of suspected smugglers and new tactics aimed at intercepting so-called “taxi boats” at sea.
More officers targeting organised crime
Labour has also substantially increased the National Crime Agency resources devoted to organised immigration crime.
The number of dedicated NCA officers working on people-smuggling has risen from 376 at the start of 2025 to nearly 800, according to the Government.
Ministers say law-enforcement disruption of smuggling networks has risen sharply, with arrests, convictions and seizures up by nearly 50% in the year to March 2026.
The Border Security Commander’s latest annual report said more than 20,000 attempted crossings had been prevented by France over the reporting period and that organised crime groups were facing higher costs, more complex operations and greater risks.
Turley: focus remains on the gangs
Turley’s intervention is intended to underline a shift in Labour’s approach towards targeting the organised criminal networks behind the crossings rather than relying primarily on deterrence measures aimed at asylum seekers after arrival.
As Minister for Border Security and Asylum, she is responsible for the Border Security Command, tackling organised immigration crime, enforcement and returns policy.
The Government says its strategy combines intelligence-led enforcement in Britain, cooperation with European partners and action further upstream against the supply of boats, engines and other equipment used by smugglers.
Progress, but challenge remains
Ministers acknowledge that small-boat crossings remain a major and adaptable challenge.
The Border Security Commander’s report noted that crossings had risen slightly over the 2025-26 financial year as a whole, despite falling substantially during its second half and into 2026.
That means the Government will need to demonstrate that this summer’s reduction can be sustained over a longer period.
But for Turley, the latest figures provide evidence that strengthened enforcement and closer UK-France cooperation are beginning to make a measurable difference.
Her message is that Labour’s focus on disrupting the gangs, seizing their equipment and stopping boats before they reach the Channel is working — with this summer recording the lowest June-to-August crossing levels in seven years.
