First time more than 200 people have been crammed into a boat launched by people smugglers from France
A dinghy carrying 230 people was detected in the Channel (Image: SNSM)
This is the biggest migrant boat ever detected crossing the Channel.
Smugglers crammed a staggering 230 people into a single boat, prompting fears there will soon “be thousands coming every single day”.
And it follows an emergency in the Channel last week, in which 173 people were rescued from a vessel that caught fire.
Smuggling gangs have spread out towards Dieppe in a bid to avoid police patrols in Calais and Dunkirk.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “A mega dinghy is not a dinghy, is it?
“A boat carrying 230 people was taken into Dover docks at 2:30am this morning. That’s a record.
“And we are rapidly heading towards the Mediterranean – there will be thousands coming every single day. You can’t smash the gangs.
“It’s impossible. We can catch a gang leader, we can give him 20 years in prison, we can fine them millions of Euros, it doesn’t matter.
“The rewards are so great somebody else pops up. We’ve even got dinghies regularly leaving Dieppe, which is in Normandy.
“We’re now looking at a stretch of coastline 130 miles long from which these boats can leave.
“There is only one way to stop this – if you get to the 12-mile line, the Royal Navy using Border Force boats… to take them back to France.
“If we did that, within a couple of weeks there would be no more boats.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This is now beyond a joke.
“The French authorities could easily have stopped a vessel this size from embarking in shallow waters. I recently saw for myself French Gendarmes shamefully standing by and doing nothing while illegal immigrants boarded in knee deep water.
A dinghy carrying 230 people was detected in the Channel (Image: SNSM)
“Shabana Mahmood is handing over £660 million of our money while this happens.
“It’s a disgrace. Out of touch Andy Burnham claims there is no problem. There clearly is. If he was serious he would adopt the Conservative plan to leave the ECHR and deport all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival. Then the crossings would soon stop.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This latest incident demonstrates the reckless and dangerous tactics employed by the criminal gangs facilitating these crossings, who continue to put lives at risk by cramming ever greater numbers of people onto unseaworthy vessels.
“We are making progress, with the number of small boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020.
“But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches.”
The Daily Express became the first UK news organisation to witness the moment a British vessel – BSC Contender – brought migrants back to France after being detected in the Channel last week.
The vessel is believed to have been in the water for 18 hours, after leaving Dieppe before picking up migrants from multiple beaches.
A maritime security source said: “Quite frankly, it’s miraculous that no one has died”.
There were so many people on board the latest mega dinghy that some of the migrants asked to get off within two hours.
“Five people had initially asked to be rescued, because the boat was in such a bad way,” said the prefecture spokesman.
“The rest told rescuers they wanted to continue, and this was permitted. Then, later in the morning, the engine caught fire.”
Those onboard then jumped into the water and the boat capsized.
It is thought that a fuel leak from the outboard motor caused the blaze, causing mass panic on board.
State pension age latest as petition to get payments from 60 reaches major milestone
A petition has reached an important milestone as its deadline arrives today.
Your state pension age is the earliest age you can start receiving your State Pension (Image: Getty)
A petition calling for the state pension to be paid to everyone from the age of 60 has reached a significant milestone. The petition is calling for a fundamental change to the current pension system, arguing that people should receive the state pension from their 60th birthday. It opened on February 10, 2026, and closes today, Monday, August 10. The petition, created by Denver Johnson, also calls for the payment to be linked to the National Living Wage.
Under the proposal, the state pension would be equivalent to 48 hours of work at the National Living Wage. The campaign calculates this at £610.08 a week, or around £31,724 a year. The petition says the payment should be available to all people aged 60, including those living overseas. The petition has now attracted 6,171 signatures at the time of writing.
The UK State Pension age is gradually increasing from 66 to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028 (Image: Getty)
The official Parliament petition page states that 10,000 signatures are required before the Government is obliged to respond. A petition reaching 100,000 signatures can be considered for debate in Parliament.
The petition states: “We want the Government to make the state pension available from age 60 and increase it to equal 48 hours a week at the National Living Wage. Hence from April 2026 a Universal State Pension should be £610.08 per week or about £31,724.16 per year as a right to all including expatriates, age 60 and above.
“We think that Government policy seems intent on the State Pension being a benefit not paid to all, while ever increasing the age of entitlement.
“We want reforms to the State Pension, so that it is available to all including expatriates, from age 60, and linked to the National Living Wage, for security.”
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed the state pension age is rising for people born in two years. The state pension age has now started to rise from 66 in April 2026 and will reach 67 in April 2028.
The age at which people can claim their State Pension, however, depends on their date of birth.
The increase affects people born on April 6, 1960, onwards. For those born between April 6, 1960 and March 5, 1961, the State Pension age rises in monthly steps. This means some people will reach State Pension age at 66 years and one month, while some other individuals will have to wait until they are 66 years and 11 months. People born from March 6, 1961, onwards are currently due to reach State Pension age at 67.
The Government said about the increase in State Pension age: “The Pensions Act 2014 brought the increase in the State Pension age from 66 to 67 forward by eight years. The State Pension age for men and women will now increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028.
“The Government also changed the way in which the increase in State Pension age is phased so that rather than reaching State Pension age on a specific date, people born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 will reach their State Pension age at 66 years and the specified number of months.”
The State Pension age timetable according to the Pensions Act 2014
- April 6, 1960 – May 5, 1960 – 66 years and 1 month
- May 6, 1960 – June 5, 1960 – 66 years and 2 months
- June 6, 1960 – July 5, 1960 – 66 years and 3 months
- July 6, 1960 – August 5, 1960 – 66 years and 4 months
- August 6, 1960 – September 5, 1960 – 66 years and 5 months
- September 6, 1960 – October 5, 1960 – 66 years and 6 months
- October 6, 1960 – November 5, 1960 – 66 years and 7 months
- November 6, 1960 – December 5, 1960 – 66 years and 8 months
- December 6, 1960 – January 5, 1961 – 66 years and 9 months
- January 6, 1961 – February 5, 1961 – 66 years and 10 months
- February 6, 1961 – March 5, 1961 – 66 years and 11 months
- March 6, 1961 – April 5, 1977