- Shabana Mahmood, the newly appointed home secretary, has described the number of migrants arriving in the UK via small boats as "utterly unacceptable".
- Home Office figures reveal that 30,100 migrants have crossed the Channel so far in 2025, marking the earliest point the 30,000 threshold has been passed since data collection began in 2018.
- This total is 37 per cent higher than at the same point in both 2023 and 2024.
- Ms Mahmood is to host representatives from the Five Eyes security alliance (US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand) to discuss new measures to combat people smuggling gangs.
- She is also working with the Ministry of Defence to identify military sites for housing asylum seekers, aiming to move them from hotels.
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