UK summer small boat Channel crossings fall to seven-year low
This file photo shows people trying to reach the UK on a small boat via the Channel.
The U.K. recorded the lowest number of small boats carrying migrants crossing the Channel this summer since 2019, the government said on Aug. 31, touting the success of its enforcement deal with France.
Successive British governments have been trying to reverse a rise in small boat crossings, which have become highly contentious among voters since they began around 2018.
The combined number of boats making the journey from France to the U.K. this year in June, July and August, summer months that usually see a surge in crossings due to the mild weather, dropped to a seven-year low, the interior ministry said.
