Refugee arrivals hit record high

Nearly 20,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Britain on small boats so far in 2025, a record high for the first six months of the year, adding pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer as the government works to reduce the numbers.

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Data from Britain’s interior ministry showed that 879 migrants arrived on Monday, taking the total for the first half of 2025 to 19,982, a 50% jump from a year earlier.

Mr Starmer is under pressure to deal with the thousands of people who cross the Channel each year on dangerous, inflatable dinghies, a key issue for voters as he pledges to “smash the gangs” behind the people smuggling trade.