This is the shocking moment a migrant sets out his intentions to visit London while sat on a dinghy filled to the brim with fellow Channel crossers.
The clip, posted on TikTok today, shows around 50 men carrying a huge inflatable boat towards the sea.
One of the migrants declares “we’re coming to London” with a huge smile stretched across his face.
The man recording the video takes it in a selfie position, as his friend throws up a peace sign and makes the declaration.
The number of migrants who have come to the UK so far this year in small boats has now exceeded last year’s total, sources said.
In 2024, 36,816 migrants made the journey, with that figure now topped in 2025 with two months of the year remaining.
A group of migrants were seen boarding a small boat towards the UK on Gravelines beach in northern France at first light on Wednesday.
Roughly 30 people were pictured scrambling aboard a dinghy before it set off towards Dover, while French police vehicles in the sand dunes tried to search for and deter potential crossings.
People thought to be migrants wait in the sea to board a small boat in Gravelines
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Official figures that include the latest arrivals are expected to be released by Thursday.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “The previous Government left our borders in crisis, and we are still living with the consequences. These figures are shameful, the British people deserve better.
“This Government is taking action. We have detained and removed more than 35,000 who were here illegally. Our historic deal with the French means those who arrive on small boats are now being sent back.
“But it is clear we must go further and faster, removing more of those here illegally, and stopping migrants from making small boat crossings in the first place. And I have been clear: I will do whatever it takes to restore order to our border.”
Migrants were spotted trying to board a vessel this morning
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Sir Keir Starmer met Western Balkans leaders on Wednesday as the UK seeks to agree further measures to bring down the number of migrants arriving illegally.
Some 22,000 people were smuggled by gangs last year along routes through the region.
The area, which includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro has become increasingly important to tackling illegal migration across Europe.
Last year, small boat crossings made up four per cent of overall immigration to the UK, but more than 80 per cent of unauthorised arrivals.
Sir Keir Starmer defended his record at PMQs earlier today
Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, who was in Government when a record number of small boat migrants arrived in 2022, said: “The Channel is now a conveyor belt for illegal immigration.
“Today we learn that even when we deport them, they simply hop back on the next dinghy.
“Keir Starmer’s Government has created the world’s first revolving-door deportation scheme. This is a national humiliation.”
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson said the latest migrant arrival figures were “deeply concerning and frankly shocking”.
Shabana Mahmood claimed the Government is ‘taking action’
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Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said: “Many men, women and children taking dangerous journeys across the Channel are fleeing countries like Sudan, where they have been forced from their homes by brutal regimes or the horrors of war.
“For the real people behind these numbers, there is usually no safe alternative.
“It is the lack of legal pathways that drives people into the hands of smugglers and onto flimsy boats that put their lives at risk.
“To prevent dangerous crossings, the UK must create more safe and legal routes. That means reopening family reunion visas to allow refugees to reunite with their partner or children in Britain, as well as expanding schemes that give people a secure way to reach the UK.”
