People smugglers now ‘using bigger boats to make riskier journeys across the Channel’

• Major General Duncan Capps warned MPs that a mass casualty event in the English Channel is only a matter of time due to overcrowded migrant boats.
• Smugglers are using larger dinghies, with up to 230 people crammed onto single vessels, and attempting longer, riskier journeys from Normandy and Belgium.
• Increased police patrols in France have doubled camp populations in Dunkirk and Calais to nearly 3,800 as migrants wait longer to make crossing attempts.
• The National Crime Agency reported that crossing fees have fallen to between 1,000 and 2,000 euros, with migrants from certain nations packed onto larger boats for lower prices.
• Maj Gen Capps revealed that only around five per cent of small boat arrivals have been returned since 2018, suggesting that safe and legal routes could act as an effective deterrent.

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