Labour's army of migrants: 83,279 small-boat arrivals since general election now outstrip the strength of the regular British Army

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By DAVID BARRETT, HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR

Published: 23:34 BST, 24 September 2026 | Updated: 01:07 BST, 25 September 2026

The number of small-boat migrants who have reached Britain under Labour is larger than the entire British Army.

The deepening crisis in the Channel saw 781 migrants arrive on Wednesday – the highest daily tally this year. It pushed the total since the general election to 83,279 – passing the Army's 83,000 soldiers, said Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp.

'Labour has let an entire army-sized population cross the Channel illegally,' the Tory frontbencher said. 

'More people have arrived in small boats than we have soldiers defending Britain. That is completely bonkers.

'Labour has lost control of our borders and seems utterly incapable of getting it back.'

He added: 'The Conservative plan is to end hotels and benefits for illegal immigrants and instead deport them.' 

Amid growing concerns over Labour's response to the crisis, this week saw two dinghies reach UK shores without being intercepted by Border Force.

Cabinet minister Lucy Powell admitted the Government 'can't stop everything all of the time' as she was grilled over a week of chaos.

Wednesday's arrivals beat the previous high for this year of 752 on July 29, and mean 1,085 migrants reached Britain in the first three days of this week. There were further arrivals yesterday but numbers are yet to be officially confirmed.

Under Labour, the number of small-boat migrants who have reached Britain is now larger than the entire British Army (Pictured: A group of migrants attempt to cross the English Channel on September 23)  

The total number of small migrants to enter Britain since the general election is 83,279 – passing the Army's 83,000 soldiers (Pictured: A group of people thought to be migrants brought in to the Border Security Command compound in Dover, Kent)

The surge in crossings may indicate that traffickers are no longer experiencing problems obtaining dinghies and other maritime equipment such as outboard motors after a law enforcement crackdown restricted supply routes.

The figures will be embarrassing for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who claimed on September 2: 'We are boosting officer numbers to record highs to crack down on small-boat launches and the gangs behind them. This work is bearing fruit.'

This week's two 'uncontrolled landings' included a dinghy with up to 30 migrants aboard which reached a Kent beach on Tuesday before police arrived. 

Officials confirmed 21 people were detained and taken to a Home Office facility, where they will be processed ahead of lodging asylum claims.

Ms Mahmood has ordered an urgent review of how the boats made it across the Channel unchallenged.

Education Secretary Ms Powell told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: '[You] can't stop everything all of the time. Of course it's a concern.

'That's why the Home Secretary has demanded and ordered this urgent review, because this is not what we want to see. This is not acceptable.'

A Border Force union – the ISU – warned that migrant boats were 'definitely' arriving undetected along the full length of the UK's south coast.

The union's Lucy Moreton said: 'It's absolutely, definitely happening. If no one sees them, no one sees them.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp claimed that Labour has 'lost control of our borders'.(Pictured: Migrants try to board a smuggler's boat) 

'But we know that we've had abandoned vessels, we've had reports of uncontrolled landings all the way down to Falmouth.'

Ms Moreton accused the Home Office of taking a position of: 'If we don't look for it, we don't know it's happening. We don't know it's happening, we don't have to deal with it.'

A former senior Home Office civil servant said the whole of the south coast should be monitored for migrant crossings, not just the narrowest section of the Channel near Dover.

Ex-Border Force director general Tony Smith said: 'We've got technology – radar and drones and surveillance – but clearly, it didn't work on this particular occasion.'

Asked why migrants would choose to arrive on a beach rather than be rescued and processed, he said they may have wanted to 'evade capture' and avoid biometric checks which could flag a criminal record or that they had previously arrived illegally.

A Government spokesman said: 'Our progress this year in tackling small boats is indisputable – with crossings down by 42 per cent and the lowest recorded over the summer months since 2020.

'But this week's events show that while the peaks we are seeing are far below those of previous years, we need to push further and harder in order to eradicate this vile trade.'

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