Canada follows France and UK with plan to recognise Palestinian state
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September, becoming the third G7 nation to make such an announcement in recent days.Carney said the move depended on democratic reforms, including the Palestinian Authority holding elections next year without Hamas.
Israel's foreign ministry rejected Canada's announcement, calling it "a reward for Hamas", while US President Donald Trump said it would make a possible trade deal between the US and Canada "very hard".
However, most countries147 of the UN's 193 member states - formally recognise a Palestinian state.
Carney said Canada would formally recognise the state of Palestine at the upcoming UN General Assembly.
He cited the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, and the
7 October 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas as reasons behind Canada's dramatic shift in foreign policy. His remarks came a day after the UK announced it would recognise a Palestinian state in September - unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire and other conditions - and a
week after France unveiled a similar plan.
"The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable and it is rapidly deteriorating," Carney told reporters on Wednesday.
He said a recognition of Palestinian statehood would hinge on commitments by
the Palestinian Authority to fundamentally reform its governance and to demilitarise the territory. Canada had long been committed to a twostate solution as part of a negotiated peace process, Carney said, but he added "this approach is no longer
tenable"."The prospect of a Palestinian state is being eroded before our eyes," he said.Carney told the news conference he had spoken with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas earlier on Wednesday about the announcement.
The Palestinian Authority controls parts of the West Bank through the Fatah party, led by Abbas, while Hamas runs Gaza. Neither territory has held an election since 2006.
Carney's announcement was criticised by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It said in a post on X that Canada's plan "harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages". Canada's Conservatives also took issue with Carney's announcement.
"Recognising a Palestinian state in the aftermath of the October 7 terrorist atrocities sends the wrong message to the world," the opposition party said in a statement.
Minister says lawyers missing the point on Palestinian recognition
Desk report:
Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said warnings that the recognition of a Palestinian state could breach international law are "missing the point".
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK would move towards recognition unless Israel met certain conditions, including agreeing a ceasefire and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution, earlier this week.
However, some of Britain's most distinguished lawyers have warned that Palestine does not meet the legal requirements for statehood under a 1933 treaty.
Nearly 150 of the UN's 193 members already formally recognise a Palestinian state, with Canada, Germany and Portugal considering recognition. Under the Montevideo Convention, signed in 1933, the criteria for the recognition of a state under international law are
set out as a defined territory, a permanent population, an effective government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.
In a letter to the government's attorney general, Lord Hermer, first reported by the Times,, external 43 cross-
party peers call for him to advise the prime minister against recognition.
The group includes some of the country's top lawyers, such as former Supreme Court judge Lord Collins of Mapesbury and Lord Pannick KC, who is a patron
of UK Lawyers for Israel.
"It is clear that there is no certainty over the borders of Palestine," they argue, and also that "there is no functioning single government, Fatah and Hamas being enemies".
"The former has failed to
hold elections for decades, and the latter is a terrorist organisation, neither of which could enter into relations with other states," the letter adds.The UK did not sign the 1933 convention but the lawyers argue that it has "become part of customary law and it would be unwise to depart from it at a time when international law is seen as fragile or, indeed, at any time".They add: "You have said that a selective, 'pick and mix' approach to international law will lead to its disintegration, and that the criteria set out in international law should not be manipulated for reasons of political expedience.
"Accordingly, we expect you to demonstrate this commitment by explaining to the public and to the government that recognition of Palestine would be contrary to the principles governing recognition of states in international law."
Desk report:
Boost our pay or risk strike action -warn nurse leaders
Nursing leaders are warning the government in England must boost the pay of nurses or face possible strike action.
A survey of Royal College of Nursing members showed 91% did not think the 3.6% pay increase this year was enough.
But, instead of seeking a bigger pay rise, the union wants ministers to reform the way the NHS contract works, warning too many nurses get stuck on the lowest pay bands which do not reflect their skills. If the government does not act over the summer, the RCN is threatening to run an industrial action ballot in the autumn.
The government said it was disappointed nurses were not happy with the pay award, but it was willing to discuss wider reform of the contract.
More than 170,000 took part in the survey, more than half of the eligible membership. It comes after resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, took part in their 12th walkout of a long running pay dispute this week.
But following the end of that strike on Wednesday the
British Medical Association and government agreed to restart talks - although these are expected to focus on improving working conditions as ministers say they will not negotiate on pay.
The RCN warned there was widespread dissatisfaction with the NHS contract, known as Agenda for Change. Nurses begin on band five, with a starting salary of just
over £31,000, after this year's pay rise. Pay at the top of the band reaches nearly £38,000.
Nearly half of nurses are on this bottom band and research shows many struggle to move on from it.
The RCN has been calling for nurses to automatically move up to band six after working an initial preceptorship period, possibly 18-months.
Sources at the union said this could be one way to address the low pay. 'Deeply undervalued' They said they were not targeting an increase to this year's pay because it was clear from the resident doctor dispute the government was not willing to revisit the pay awards which were recommended by an independent pay review process. When the pay award was
announced, the RCN called it "grotesque" as doctors were given more.
Members in Wales and Northern Ireland also said the 3.6% increase was not enough. In Scotland an 8% pay rise over two years has been agreed.
RCN general secretary Prof Nicola Ranger said: "My profession feels deeply undervalued and that is why record numbers are telling the government to wake up, sense the urgency here and do what's right by them and by patients.
"Record numbers have delivered this verdict on a broken system that holds back nursing pay and careers and hampers the NHS."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said it was "disappointing" that RCN members were not happy with their pay rise, given it was above inflation. But she said ministers were willing to enter discussions. "This government is clear we can't move any further on headline pay, but will work with the RCN to improve their major concerns, including pay structure reform, career progression and wider working conditions."
Small boats crossings hit 25,000 for the year
Desk report:
More than 25,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel so far in 2025, according to official figures.
The Home Office said 898 people in 13 boats were brought ashore in Dover on Wednesday, bringing the annual total to 25,436.
The 25,000 mark has been passed much earlier this year than in previous years - in the record year of 2022 is was not passed until 27 August.
It comes as ministers continue to grapple with the challenge of cracking down on people-smuggling gangs. Chris Philp MP, shadow home secretary, called it a "national emergency", and accused Labour of "doing nothing" to stop the crossings.
The government has said it is sharing intelligence and strengthening cross-border cooperation with France to "smash" people-smuggling gangs. On Thursday the National Crime Agency announced it had worked with Bulgarian
authorities to seize 25 small boats intended for use in the Channel. In the whole of 2020 there were 8,461 crossings, while in 2019 that number was 1,835.
In 2018, there were 297 people recorded making the journey, although figures were only published from 3 November.
The annual total for 2025 hit
10,000 at the end of April, and 20,000 by the end of June.
The jump in arrivals this year has coincided with a rise in the number of people making the journey in a single craft.
The average for 2025 is currently running at 59 people per boat - up from 49 in 2023. What is the government
doing?
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
"The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their
business models and bring them to justice.
"That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage. Campaigners have long argued the government should introduce "more safe and legal routes" to help reduce small boat crossings by making smugglers "redundant". The France return deal
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month agreed to a pilot scheme in which some migrants who crossed the channel would be detained and returned to France.
In exchange, others would be allowed to come into the UK from France via a legal and controlled route. The idea is to deter migrants from making the crossing. Shadow home secretary Mr Philp claimed the deal with France "will not even make a dent".
French police have also been changing their tactics.
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Desk report:An outage in the UK's air traffic control system caused chaos at airports in the UK and beyond on Wednesday.The fault lasted a mere 20 minutes, but was enough to ground planes across the country, causing 150 flight cancellations and delays that have continued into Thursday.So, what went wrong with this vital piece of air traffic technology?
NATS, which is partly owned by the government, manages all of the UK's airspace for flights arriving and departing the country's airports.
It has said Wednesday's problem was caused by a "radar-related issue"understood to be problems with the radar display system in its national air traffic control centre in Swanwick.
NATS said the issue was "resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system".
However, it said the problem was different to issues that the centre faced in August 2023. Back then, more than 700,000 passengers were affected when some 500 flights were
The
true
Desk report:
Record numbers of foreign sex offenders and violent criminals are being held in jails in England and Wales, the first official data by nationality has revealed.
Some 1,731 foreign-national sex offenders were in prison as of June this year, up by 9.9 per cent in 12 months. The rate of increase was nearly three times that of Britons, with the number imprisoned for sex offences up 3.8 per cent, according to data published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on Thursday. The number of foreign violent offenders held in jails is also at its highest since records began a decade ago. It has risen by 8.8 per cent in a year to 3,250, nearly double the rate of 4.8 per cent for Britons imprisoned for violence.
Foreign nationals account for one in eight (12.3 per cent) of the 87,000 prisoners in England and Wales, the highest number in at least a decade and the second highest proportion on record, just down from 12.5 per cent in 2021. Foreign nationals account for more than one in 10 (10.6 per cent) sex offenders and more than one in 10 (10.5 per cent) of prisoners held for violence against the person. However, the figures show that foreign offenders are twice as
Why did the air traffic control outage cause so much havoc?
cancelled due to a major outage.NATS said it reduced traffic during Wednesday's outage for safety reasons and added there was "no evidence" that it was caused by any cyber attack.Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said NATS told her it was "an isolated event and there is no evidence of malign
activity".NATS is working on an internal investigation into what happened, but there will be no formal report to the Department for Transport.
To understand how such a brief radar failure could cause such much havoc, Graham Lake, a former director general of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), said
people should imagine the NATS air traffic network as "national infrastructure". "Think of the network as motorways in the sky," he told the BBC."When you lose something like surveillance radar coverage for whatever reason, the capability of your network degrades to a country lane.
"That's why the systems slow down when there's a technical failure." Is NATS to blame for the outage?
Airlines have been vocal in their criticism of NATS, noting that this is the second time its system has failed since 2023. One airline, Ryanair, has called for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign, arguing "no lessons" have been learned from the previous failure.EasyJet said it has been "hugely disappointing to see, yet again, the major failure within our air traffic control system which has let down a lot of customers with lengthy delays and, in some cases, cancellations".
Passengers have been urged to check flight information, with some telling the BBC they have been temporarily stranded abroad because of the disruption.Mr Lake told the BBC's Today programme he did not believe it was fair to call for Mr Rolfe to lose his job, arguing that technical failures were "inevitable" and that "the recovery was quick".
scale of foreign sex offenders in Britain
likely as Britons to be in jail for drug offences, accounting for nearly one in five (19.7 per cent) of all prisoners held for drug dealing or possession. Albanians – who account for a disproportionate number of drug offences – remain the largest foreign national group in prison with 1,193 inmates, although this is down from the 2023 peak of 1,475. They are followed by Poles (759), Romanians (716), Irish (707), Lithuanians (339) and Jamaicans (338). There have been notable increases over
the past year in the number of foreign nationals held in jails from India (up 17 per cent), Iranians (up 10 per cent), Afghans (up 28 per cent), Sudanese (up 32 per cent) and Syrians (up 46 per cent).
The publication of the data follows pressure from politicians and the media for the Government to be more transparent about the scale of migrant crime. The Tories have called for an annual report to Parliament on the nationality and visa status of
all offenders convicted in the UK. This week Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, blamed immigration for the sharp rise in rapes and sexual assaults, citing data that showed 40 per cent of people charged for sexual offences in London were now foreign offenders.
Some of the protests at asylum hotels have been sparked by alleged sex offences by migrants. An estimated 1,000 people are expected to protest at The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex,
on Thursday, after an asylum seeker from Ethiopia was charged with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: “Instead of releasing criminals early to free up prison space, the Government must deport every single one of these foreign offenders. They need to be kicked out of the country immediately. Starmer must suspend visas and aid until countries take back their nationals.” Robert Bates, research director of the Centre for Migration Control, said: “Any foreign nationals convicted of these awful crimes must be deported regardless of the length of their sentence. Much more must be done by the Home Office to stop dangerous men entering our country, including the use of nationality red lists and more thorough criminalrecord checks.”
The MoJ data also showed that the number of drone incidents – where they are spotted as they attempt to drop drugs, phones or other contraband into jails – rose by 43 per cent to a record 1,712 in the year to March. That is thought to be a significant underestimate as it does not include undetected drone drops.
Boris Johnson loyalists consider joining Reform
Desk report : Boris Johnson loyalists are among three former Conservative frontbenchers who are considering defecting to Reform UK.
The trio all lost their seats at the general election last year and believe that they now have more common ground with Nigel Farage’s party than with the Tories. This week, Adam Holloway, who served as a whip under Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, became the eighth former Conservative MP to join Reform.
The party’s lead in the polls has prompted Sir Keir Starmer to regard Mr Farage as “the real leader of the opposition” instead of Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader.
One former MP in the Red Wall – Labour’s traditional northern and Midlands heartlands which were won by the Tories under Mr Johnson in 2019 but lost to Labour in 2024 – claimed Mrs Badenoch was “falling short”. They said: “There’s a lot of frustration that Kemi hasn’t even defined what conservatism even stands for or means. It’s leading people to wonder if they belong in the Conservative Party.
“Reform has details to work out but at least there’s a much clearer definition of the country they want to see.
And that’s where Kemi’s falling short at the moment.
“I don’t feel that the Conservative Party is currently my home. I’ve got more in common with Reform than I have with Conservatives at the moment.”
Reform outflanking Tories on immigration
Another potential defector is understood to be Jonathan Gullis, another ex-Red Wall MP who represented Stokeon-Trent North during the previous parliament. Mr Gullis, a former education minister, is said to view himself as more ideologically
similar to Reform than the Tories as things currently stand.Both parties have vowed to cut taxes and red tape, slash legal and illegal migration and abolish the Labour Government’s legally binding net zero targets. However, Reform has outflanked the Tories on the Right by vowing a “one in, one out” immigration policy and committing to leaving the European Convention of Human Rights (EHCR).
Mrs Badenoch has said she is “minded” to withdraw the UK from the treaty but is expected to wait at least a couple of months before
finalising her party’s position.
It is believed that Mr Gullis feels “some temptation” to switch sides and join Reform.
But he has yet to make a decision and is mindful of a mid-August deadline for would-be Tory candidates at the next election to register their interest. A third former Tory MP confirmed they have held informal talks with Reform figures and said they had received “a lot of nudges” from people reaching out.
They said: “In future, if I stand again as a candidate, I don’t know. I’m a lifelong Conservative and I want
a genuinely Conservative government.
“But even if we won the next election and wanted to leave the ECHR, you’ll always have those 20 or 30 MPs who are there who will sabotage any attempt to make any changes to things.”Reform ‘fundamentally Left-wing on welfare’
Mr Holloway’s defection followed those of former cabinet ministers Sir Jake Berry, a former Tory chairman, and David Jones, who served as Wales Secretary, earlier in July. A former veteran, Mr Holloway was a stalwart of the Tory Right and one of the 28 “Spartan” MPs who voted against Theresa May’s Brexit deal on all three occasions in 2019. Some of his former parliamentary colleagues lamented his decision to change allegiances but were clear they would not follow suit.One said: “My general view is that obviously what Reform are saying on migration and culture war stuff is the sort of thing that the Tory Party should have been saying a long time ago. “But why would I give up on the Tory Party to go and join a party which is fundamentally Left-wing on issues of welfare, state interventionist and protectionist? There is no plan for succession, it’s a one-man band.”
Pensioner arrested after children ‘poisoned’ at Christian summer camp
Desk report: A pensioner has been arrested on suspicion of poisoning eight children at a Christian summer camp. Detectives are questioning the 76-year-old man after receiving a report of children feeling unwell at a summer camp in Stathern, Leicestershire, on Sunday. The children were enjoying a summer camp at Stathern Lodge, owned by Christian charity the Braithwaite Gospel Trust, which provides holiday clubs.
However, officers were not deployed until Monday, alongside East Midlands Ambulance Service, to treat those affected.
Ten ambulances and an air ambulance were in attendance, before eight children were taken to hospital as a precaution. They have all since been discharged. The suspect was arrested and remains in custody, where he is being held on
suspicion of administering poison/a noxious thing with intent to injure/aggrieve/ annoy. June Grant, 83, a former bookings secretary at Plungar village hall, said: “I live near the village hall and there were so many sirens.
“You could hear the ambulances and police cars whizzing around the village. It was pretty scary but such good news that the children are ok.” Another resident who lives near the hall said:
“It was pretty chaotic with
emergency workers running around everywhere. I saw a few children in tears as they walked into the hall.
“It’s like every parent’s worst nightmare, dropping your child at summer camp and then being told they might
have been poisoned.”
It emerged later on Thursday that the 76-year-old man was arrested in a car park of the Anchor Inn near the village hall.
A member of staff at the pub said the “live police investigation has disrupted our sleepy village”. Assistant Chief Constable James Avery said: “Following initial assessment, I can confirm eight children were taken to hospital as a precaution and have since been discharged.
“Officers have been in contact with the parents and guardians of those children taken to hospital.
“I can confirm that a 76-yearold man was arrested on suspicion of administering poison or a noxious substance.“He remains in custody at this time.
“The investigation is now being led by the East Midlands Specialist Operations Unit, major investigation team.
Tulip Siddiq to face trial in Bangladesh
Desk report::
The Labour MP Tulip Siddiq will face trial in Bangladesh in August over allegations of corruption, whether or not she chooses to attend.
Investigators from the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accuse her of having obtained plots of land in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone from her aunt Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as prime minister last year, through “abuse of power and influence”.
On Thursday, two Bangladeshi courts formally indicted 27 people including Siddiq, her aunt and other family members, as well as several current and former officials.
Judge Muhammad Rabiul Alam, of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4, said the charges related to alleged irregularities in plot allocation under the Purbachal New Town Project, a long-running land development programme operated by the government agency Rajuk.
A trial date of August 11 has been set and all of the accused have been ordered to attend. If they refuse, the trial will go ahead in their absence. “We considered Tulip as an ‘abator’ who influenced her aunt to get land properties for her other family members,” Mir Ahmed Ali Salam, an ACC public prosecutor, said.
Siddiq, 42, who was forced to resign as anti-corruption minister earlier this year amid the allegations, has always denied wrongdoing and accused the Bangladeshi authorities of a “targeted and baseless” campaign against her.
A spokesperson for Siddiq did not respond to questions over whether the MP would go to Bangladesh to stand trial. She has not appeared at any of
the pre-trial hearings so far despite being ordered to do so.
Lawyers representing Siddiq said in a statement: “For nearly a year now, the Bangladesh authorities have been making false allegations against Tulip Siddiq. Ms Siddiq has not been contacted or received any official communication from the court and does not and has never owned any plot of land in Purbachal.
“This longstanding politically motivated smear campaign has included repeated briefings to the media, a refusal to respond to formal legal correspondence, and a failure to seek any meeting with or question Ms Siddiq during the recent visit by the AntiCorruption Commission to the United Kingdom. Such conduct is wholly incompatible with the standards of a fair, lawful, and credible investigation. “In light of these facts, it is now time for the chief adviser and the ACC to end this baseless and defamatory effort to damage Ms Siddiq’s reputation and obstruct her work in public service.”
The MP for Hampstead & Highgate was forced to resign from Labour’s front bench in January after an official investigation found her family’s links with the ousted Bangladeshi regime exposed the government to “reputational risks”.
Siddiq had referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards after revelations that she had lived in London properties with links to Hasina, who fled to India from Bangladesh after mass protests in August last year.
She had initially claimed that a £650,000 flat in Kings Cross in London was given to her by her parents. It later transpired, however, that the flat had been paid for by Abdul Motalif, a developer and associate of figures in the Awami League, Hasina’s party.
The ACC has named Siddiq
by Trump’s tariffs. Its chairman, Jerome Powell, is under intense pressure from the Trump administration to cut rates to ease the burden of rising prices on American families.
A total of 26 per cent of poll respondents believed tariffs would make the country more prosperous. Seven per cent said it would make no difference while 42 per cent said they would make it poorer.
Encouragingly for Trump, a small but greater number of respondents than in April described the condition of the American economy as excellent or good — 28 per cent, up from 23 per cent when the stock market was plunging after Trump announced his sweeping tariffs on “liberation day”.
in two of its other inquiries, accusing her of benefiting from a nuclear power plant deal with Russia, and of money laundering.
How Trump is delivering his pledges after 200 days
Desk report::
American voters see President Trump’s drive to arrest and deport immigrants as the best achievement of his presidency so far, exclusive polling for The Times shows.
The Times commissioned a survey of 1,470 adults in the US across July 18-21 to gauge views of Trump’s second term as it approaches its 200th day next week.
Almost half of Americans (48 per cent) graded it positively or “fair” — 21 per cent said it was excellent, 16 per cent good and 11 per cent fair. Some 48 per cent said it had been poor and 4 per cent said they didn’t know.
Trump’s drive to arrest and deport illegal immigrants was identified as his best achievement by 13 per cent of voters. Some 11 per cent said his biggest accomplishment was reducing border crossings. Respondents named inflation as the most important issue. Inflation stood at 3 per cent when Trump took office in January, down from the highs of the Biden presidency. It fell to a low of 2.4 per cent in May, rising slightly to 2.7 per cent in June.
Trump began his second term with a pledge to bring inflation down immediately and “make America wealthy again”. In further good news, the president celebrated the announcement this week of 3 per cent quarterly GDP growth. However, the poll carried out by YouGov revealed widespread nervousness about Trump’s flagship tariffs policy.
The Federal Reserve held rates at 4.5 per cent this week citing the uncertainty caused
adviser, named by 17 per cent. This time only 6 per cent picked him, trailing JD Vance, the vicepresident (9 per cent), and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state (8 per cent).
Far more Americans think what the Trump administration has said about Jeffrey Epstein is false than true. Nearly half of Americans (46 per cent) support the US giving military supplies to Ukraine, including 39 per cent of Republicans, and only 21 per cent are against, including 33 per cent of Republicans. The country is split over the wisdom of bombing Iran: 38 per cent said it was the right decision, 37 per cent said it was wrong and 25 per cent were unsure.
Americans’ approval of Trump’s job performance overall stands at 39 per cent, down only three points since he completed his first 100 days back in office in April. Fifty-six per cent disapproved, up slightly from 53 per cent. Some 31 per cent believed that “America’s best days” were ahead, with Republicans overwhelmingly more positive about the future. Fewer than half — 42 per cent — said the country’s best days were behind it and 6 per cent agreed that “America’s best days are happening now”.
The president’s performance was endorsed by Frank Luntz, America’s chief pollster, who told The Times: “You show me a president who did more in their first 200 days. Sure, he has not united the country but that was never his promise. His stated priority was to ‘make America great again’ and almost every policy he talked about, he’s been able to do.
“The legislation he could not get through Congress, he made happen through presidential executive order. He doesn’t care about process — at all. He only cares about the result, and whether or not you agree with him, his results have been significant.” Trump’s most frequently cited mistake, according to the poll, was “passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, which cut taxes, reduced healthcare spending and boosted investment in defence and border control.
The policy has drawn widespread support from Republicans although large numbers of Democrats oppose it. As few as 12 per cent would consider supporting a third party founded by Elon Musk. Musk’s popularity has fallen, especially among Republicans, since his departure from the administration at the end of May and public falling-out with Trump.
In April, he led the list when Americans were asked for Trump’s most impressive cabinet member or senior
Small boats crossings hit 25,000 for the year
Desk report::
More than 25,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel so far in 2025, according to official figures. The Home Office said 898 people in 13 boats were brought ashore in Dover on Wednesday, bringing the annual total to 25,436.
The 25,000 mark has been passed much earlier this year than in previous years - in the record year of 2022 is was not passed until 27 August. It comes as ministers continue to grapple with the challenge of cracking down on peoplesmuggling gangs.
Chris Philp MP, shadow home secretary, called it a "national emergency", and accused Labour of "doing nothing" to stop the crossings.
The government has said it is sharing intelligence and strengthening cross-border cooperation with France to "smash" people-smuggling gangs.
On Thursday the National Crime Agency announced it had worked with Bulgarian authorities to seize 25 small boats intended for use in the Channel. In the whole of 2020 there were 8,461 crossings, while in 2019 that number was 1,835.
In 2018, there were 297 people recorded making the journey, although figures were only published from 3 November.
The annual total for 2025 hit 10,000 at the end of April, and 20,000 by the end of June.
The jump in arrivals this year has coincided with a rise in the number of people making the journey in a single craft.
The average for 2025 is currently running at 59 people per boat - up from 49 in 2023. What is the government doing?
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.