Stories
UK Home Secretary Orders Urgent Review After Illegal Migrants Land on Shores
N
News18•24-09-2026, 21:00
UK Home Secretary Orders Urgent Review After Illegal Migrants Land on Shores
- •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.
- •Mahmood stated it was ‘not acceptable’ that the UK’s Border Force failed to stop the boatloads before they reached the Kent coast.
- •The review by the Border Security Command will investigate how this happened and what measures are needed to prevent recurrence.
- •Mahmood highlighted new tactics by people smugglers, launching small boats from further west in France, as a challenge.
- •Despite the recent incidents, the total number of migrants arriving illegally via the Channel in small boats is down 45% compared to last year.
Key Questions Answered
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review after two boats carrying hundreds of illegal migrants landed directly on the UK's Kent coast over two consecutive days without being stopped by the Border Force before reaching shore.
Smugglers are adopting new tactics by launching small boats from much further west in France, forcing migrants onto increasingly long and dangerous crossings as government monitoring makes closer launches harder.
An estimated 17,784 migrants have arrived in the UK illegally after crossing the English Channel in small boats so far this year, which is down 45 per cent compared to the previous year.
