June 3, 2025

The number of overloaded dinghies crossing the Channel with more than 80 migrants on board has trebled in a year, Home Office figures have revealed.

Ruthless people-smuggling gangs are cramming ever increasing numbers of people into flimsy dinghies in an attempt to maximise profits, the data showed.

Some 33 small boats carrying more than 80 migrants were intercepted in the Channel in the year to April – up from 11 in the previous year and only one in the 12 months to April 2023.

The number of dinghies with 70 to 79 people on board also increased nearly four-fold, from 35 to 123 in a year.

Source: ‘Death trap’ boats overloaded with migrants surge under Starmer

Leave a Reply