Migrants crossing English Channel to reach UK via small boat (Image: Getty)
A Cabinet Minister has suggested that not every migrant boat can be intercepted, after two uncontrolled landings from the Channel in two days. Education Secretary Lucy Powell branded the situation “not acceptable” but insisted there was an “improving picture”.
Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said: “Labour have admitted they will never stop the boats.
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“Keir Starmer’s pledge to ‘smash the gangs’ was always a farce, and open-borders Burnham has learnt absolutely nothing from his predecessor.
“The only way to stop the crossings is to deport all illegal immigrants on arrival.”
When she was asked if the boats reaching the UK was embarrassing, the Cabinet minister responded: “(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.
“But the overall picture is an improving picture. It is hard, difficult work that requires constant, constant effort by our border forces, our security services, police, our partnerships with France and other countries. This is a mammoth and huge task, which is now starting to reap some dividends. But of course, you know where there are still issues arising, we must absolutely tackle them.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood already branded the failure to intercept two migrant boats in two days before they reached the Kent coast as “not acceptable”.
The Home Secretary, who has ordered an urgent review by the Border Security Command, said “even one” uncontrolled landing is “one too many”.
Twenty-one people were detained after a boat arrived on the beach of Samphire Hoe, Dover, on Tuesday afternoon.
It came after a dinghy made it to shore at Folkestone on Monday morning – the first undetected landing for a year.
Speaking on Thursday morning, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Labour has lost control of our borders A radically different approach is needed We need to leave the ECHR so anyone entering Britain illegally can be rapidly deported No hotels. No benefits. No lengthy court process. No asylum claim. Just rapid removal. Then the crossings will soon stop.”
The thousands of migrants crossing the Channel are usually brought to shore by Border Security Command or RNLI boats.
Before Monday, no small boat arrivals to the UK coast without an escort had been officially recorded since September 6 2025.
Uncontrolled landings are so rare that last year’s incident was the only other one recorded since the Home Office began keeping data in 2023.
Labour minister claims ‘you can’t stop everything’ after two migrant boats land in UK
A senior Labour minister has come under renewed scrutiny after two migrant boats reached the Kent coast without being intercepted, prompting the Home Secretary to order an urgent review of the country’s border security arrangements.
Education Secretary and Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell said that “you can’t stop everything all of the time” when asked about the two uncontrolled landings.
Her comments came as ministers faced a particularly difficult week on the Channel, with the Home Office recording 781 migrant arrivals in 10 boats on Wednesday alone — the highest daily total recorded so far this year. The provisional number of people arriving by small boat in 2026 had reached 18,565 by that point.
However, the annual figure was still 42 per cent lower than at the same point in 2025, when 32,188 arrivals had been recorded, and 26 per cent below the corresponding figure for 2024.
That contrast lies at the heart of the government’s argument.
Ministers say the overall trend is significantly better than in previous years, while acknowledging that the two unauthorised landings exposed a serious operational problem that needs to be investigated.
Two boats reach the Kent coast
The immediate controversy began with two separate incidents in Kent.
A dinghy reached the Folkestone area on Monday morning without being intercepted.
The following day, another boat reached Samphire Hoe near Dover. At least 21 people were detained after reaching the shore.
According to reports, the two incidents represented the first officially recorded uncontrolled small-boat landings on the UK coast since September 2025.
Such incidents have been extremely unusual since the Home Office began recording the category in 2023.
Most people crossing the Channel in small boats are intercepted or escorted by British authorities before being brought ashore, while some rescues involve RNLI lifeboats.
The fact that two boats reached the coast independently within two days therefore attracted immediate attention.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the failures as “not acceptable” and ordered Border Security Command to conduct an urgent review.
The review is intended to establish what happened and whether additional measures are required to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Powell: there is no simple switch
Speaking to BBC programmes on Thursday, Powell was pressed about whether the incidents were embarrassing for the government.
Her response was blunt.
“You can’t stop everything all of the time,” she said.
She immediately added that the incidents were a concern and stressed that the Home Secretary had ordered an urgent review because the government did not want uncontrolled landings to occur.
Powell also rejected the suggestion that the government was simply accepting the crossings.
She argued that ministers were taking action every day and that the overall picture was improving.
“There is no switch,” she said in another interview, explaining that if there were a mechanism that could simply be activated to stop every small boat crossing, the government would use it.
Her broader argument was that the authorities were engaged in a continuing effort involving Border Force, police, security agencies and cooperation with France.
She also said smugglers were changing their methods as enforcement operations became more effective.
The government points to the wider figures
The government’s defence of its record is based largely on the overall reduction in crossings.
By 24 September, 18,565 people had arrived in Britain by small boat during 2026, according to provisional Home Office figures.
That was substantially below the same point in the previous two years.
The government said crossings were down by 42 per cent compared with 2025 and described the reduction as evidence that its measures were having an effect.
Officials also pointed to the summer figures.
According to a government statement reported by the Independent, the number of crossings during the summer months was the lowest recorded since 2020.
But the figures are volatile.
The 781 arrivals recorded on Wednesday demonstrated how quickly daily numbers can rise even when the cumulative annual total remains below previous years.
That is why ministers have continued to describe the issue as requiring sustained enforcement rather than a single policy intervention.
Why the two landings matter
The operational significance of the two boats goes beyond the number of people involved.
Border Security Command has invested heavily in surveillance, intelligence and cooperation with French authorities.
Uncontrolled landings are particularly sensitive because they indicate that boats can still evade detection or interception despite those measures.
Before this week’s incidents, the previous uncontrolled landing recorded by the Home Office had been in September 2025.
The rarity of such incidents had led officials to suggest that improved surveillance and resources were making them increasingly difficult for smugglers to achieve.
The latest events have therefore prompted questions about whether criminal gangs have found new methods for exploiting gaps in the system.
Mahmood said smugglers were changing their tactics, and the government believes this is partly a response to increased enforcement pressure.
That is one reason why ministers are treating the incidents as an operational issue requiring investigation rather than simply as evidence of a wider change in the annual trend.
Opposition parties attack Labour
The incidents have nevertheless provided opposition parties with an opportunity to challenge the government’s immigration policy.
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of having lost control of Britain’s borders.
He argued that a substantially different approach was required and called for faster deportations of people who enter the country illegally.
Those are Conservative policy arguments rather than established facts about what would happen under such a policy.
Other opposition politicians have similarly used Powell’s comments to argue that Labour is no longer promising to prevent every small-boat crossing.
The political criticism has focused particularly on the phrase “you can’t stop everything”.
Labour has responded that the quotation has been taken out of context and that Powell was explaining the practical difficulty of intercepting every vessel while simultaneously stressing that the government wants to eliminate the crossings.
A record daily total adds pressure
The controversy became more difficult for ministers because the two uncontrolled landings coincided with the year’s largest single-day arrival figure.
On Wednesday, 781 people were recorded arriving in 10 boats.
That represented an average of roughly 78 people per boat.
It was the highest daily total so far in 2026, exceeding the previous high of 752 recorded on 29 July.
The figure does not alter the broader year-on-year comparison, but it demonstrates why the issue remains politically sensitive.
A lower annual total does not necessarily mean that individual days will be predictable.
Weather conditions, departures from the French coast, the tactics used by smuggling networks and enforcement operations can all affect daily numbers.
Cooperation with France remains central
Powell stressed that Britain’s efforts cannot be separated from cooperation with France.
The Channel is an international waterway, and British and French authorities work together on surveillance, maritime security and search-and-rescue operations.
The government has repeatedly argued that disrupting crossings requires action before boats leave French shores as well as interception once they are at sea.
This approach has involved intelligence sharing, policing operations and efforts to target smuggling organisations.
But it also creates practical limitations.
British authorities cannot simply control everything that happens on the French side of the Channel.
French authorities have their own legal responsibilities and operational priorities.
The effectiveness of cooperation therefore depends on coordination between two separate national systems.
The government says progress is being made
Labour’s argument is essentially that the two uncontrolled landings should be judged against the wider trend rather than treated as proof that every border measure has failed.
Powell said the government was “starting to reap some dividends” from what she described as a large and difficult programme of work.
The government also points to the reduction in total arrivals compared with 2025 and 2024.
But ministers have simultaneously acknowledged that the latest incidents cannot simply be dismissed.
Mahmood’s decision to order an urgent review demonstrates that the government considers the two landings a significant operational failure.
That creates a difficult balancing act.
If ministers emphasise the annual reduction too heavily, critics can accuse them of ignoring obvious weaknesses.
If they focus only on the two incidents, they risk understating the substantial year-on-year reduction in total crossings.
What the review could examine
The Border Security Command review is expected to examine how the two boats avoided interception and whether changes are required.
That could include surveillance coverage, intelligence sharing, the deployment of Border Force resources and coordination with police and French authorities.
It may also examine whether smugglers are deliberately exploiting particular stretches of coastline or changing departure times and routes.
The government has not yet published detailed findings.
Consequently, it would be premature to say that a particular technology, vessel, staffing arrangement or policy caused the two incidents.
The review should provide more information about what happened and whether the events point to a wider vulnerability.
The wider immigration challenge
The Channel crossings remain one part of a much larger immigration debate.
Successive governments have struggled to prevent people from attempting dangerous journeys across the Channel in small, often overcrowded boats.
The government wants to reduce crossings while dismantling the criminal networks organising them.
At the same time, Britain has obligations under international law concerning people who may be seeking asylum and those requiring rescue at sea.
That makes the issue considerably more complicated than simply preventing boats from reaching British waters.
There are also questions about what happens after people arrive, including asylum processing, accommodation, appeals and removals.
The government therefore faces pressure at multiple stages of the system.
A difficult message for Labour
For Powell, the controversy illustrates the difficulty of explaining a policy that involves both progress and continuing problems.
The government can point to a significant reduction in annual arrivals.
But it cannot claim that every crossing has been prevented.
The two uncontrolled landings have provided a concrete example of that distinction.
Powell’s statement that “you can’t stop everything all of the time” was followed by a clear assertion that the government wants to reduce and ultimately eradicate small-boat crossings.
The Home Secretary’s response was equally clear: even one uncontrolled landing is unacceptable.
Those positions are not necessarily contradictory.
One describes the operational reality of border enforcement; the other describes the government’s objective.
The political argument is over whether the measures being used are sufficient and whether the fall in crossings is evidence of sustainable progress.
What happens next
The immediate next step is the Border Security Command review.
Its findings could influence decisions about surveillance, deployment and cooperation with French authorities.
Meanwhile, ministers will continue to face questions about the daily arrival figures and the government’s broader immigration strategy.
The 18,565 provisional arrivals recorded by 24 September remain significantly below the equivalent 2025 figure.
But the 781 arrivals recorded on Wednesday show that the situation remains capable of changing rapidly.
For Burnham’s government, the challenge is therefore not simply to point to falling annual numbers.
It must also demonstrate that the security system can respond effectively when smugglers change their tactics.
Powell’s comment that “you can’t stop everything” has become the central line of the political argument.
Labour says it was an explanation of the difficulty of tackling an organised criminal trade, not an admission that the government has abandoned its objective.
The opposition argues that the words reveal a failure to deliver on promises to control the border.
The forthcoming review should provide more evidence about the operational reasons behind the two landings.
Until then, the available figures tell two stories at once: overall small-boat arrivals are substantially lower than at the same point in the previous two years, but the latest incidents demonstrate that preventing every unauthorised landing remains a difficult task for the authorities.
That distinction is likely to remain at the centre of Britain’s immigration debate as the Burnham government comes under continued pressure to show whether its strategy can deliver a sustained reduction in Channel crossings.