The number of small boat crossings falls to the lowest level in four years

Yvette Cooper believes she can turn the tide on the Channel crossings after numbers fell to their lowest level in four years in September.

After several years of Tory bigotry on small boats, it looks like Labour’s plans to cut numbers are starting to pay off.

Just 4,190 migrants crossed the Channel in September, down from 4,729 in 2023 and the lowest number of arrivals in four years.

A Home Office source said: “It is still very early days and no one is getting carried away with one month’s figures.

“But what we will hopefully see is the difference in disrupting the supply chains of the smuggling gangs.”

The National Crime Agency has stepped up its efforts to flush out people smuggling gangs and is working with Bulgarian authorities to prevent hundreds of boats, motorbikes and other maritime equipment from ending up in the hands of people smugglers.

A number of interceptions have been made of maritime equipment intended for criminal gangs organizing canal crossings, including 125 dangerous inflatable boats, 128 outboard motors, more than 700 pumps and 300 rubber rings.

NCA experts estimate that the seizures will have denied the crime networks around £16.6 million in profits they would have made from using the equipment.

Cooper will go to Rome this week for a G7 meeting where illegal migration is at the top of the agenda.

Ahead of the meeting, the Home Secretary said: “The perpetrators of the vicious migrant smuggling trade have no concern for the security of national borders or the safety of the people they exploit.

“This is a global challenge and working with our closest partners is critical.”

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