On Air Now

Darren Lethem

6:00pm - 10:00pm

  • 01723 336444

Now Playing

Rainbow

Since You've Been Gone

Download

Coastguard responding to 'multiple incidents' involving small boats in Channel

The UK coastguard has said it is responding to "multiple incidents" involving small boats in the Channel.

HM Coastguard said Border Force and RNLI vessels had been deployed as part of the response.

It comes hours after Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced a deal they said was designed to crack down on small boats.

The number of crossings tends to be higher when the weather in the Channel is calm, as it was on Friday morning.

At least 21,000 people have already made the journey since January, putting 2025 on course to be a record year for crossings.

The latest Home Office figures show 573 people made the crossing in 10 boats on Thursday.

According to the Red Cross, many people cross the English Channel in the hopes of finding and joining family who have already made it to the UK.

It says people are often separated from their loved ones as they flee their homes or on their journey in search of safety, which can take many years.

Read more
Why do so many from around the world try to cross the English Channel?
Channel crossings rise 50% in first six months of 2025

The UK hosts less than 1% of the world's refugees, with 71% seeking safety in neighbouring countries to their own. For example, the Red Cross says Jordan currently hosts 1.3 million refugees from neighbouring Syria.

Many of those seeking refuge in the UK rather than other European countries do so because they can speak English.

Under the terms of the "one in, one out" scheme agreed between the UK and France, people who cross the Channel will be returned to France each week in exchange for the same number of asylum seekers who have been accepted to come to the UK.

? Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app ?

Speaking next to France's President Emmanuel Macron at a news conference in north west London, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it would come into force in a matter of "weeks".

"Migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order," he said.

"In exchange for every return, a different individual will be allowed to come here via a safe route - controlled and legal - subject to strict security checks, and only open to those who have not tried to enter the UK illegally."

The prime minister said the arrangement would begin as a "pilot", with reports suggesting that just 50 people per week will be sent to France back across the Channel.

However, neither Mr Macron nor Sir Keir mentioned any figures in the news conference.

Sky News

(c) Sky News 2025: Coastguard responding to 'multiple incidents' involving small boats in Channel

Did you find this article useful?

This is the Coast is committed to providing a daily local news service for the Yorkshire Coast. We are a small locally owned and operated business which employs professional journalists and reporters. We do not receive any public funding or grants and we are entirely funded by our local commercial operations. We enjoy fabulous support from local businesses who work with us on their advertising and marketing campaigns, but the cost of providing high quality, well researched, fact checked local news coverage is significant.

If you appreciate what This is the Coast does, and would like to help support our journalism, please consider supporting us on a monthly basis today.

A small contribution from all our readers would really help support independent journalism for the Yorkshire Coast.

More from National News

Follow Us

Get Our Apps

Our Apps are now available for iOS, Android and Smart Speakers.

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play
  • Just ask Amazon Alexa
  • Available on Roku

Today's Weather

  • Scarborough

    Sunny

    High: 23°C | Low: 15°C

  • Filey

    Sunny

    High: 24°C | Low: 14°C

  • Whitby

    Sunny

    High: 23°C | Low: 13°C

  • Bridlington

    Sunny

    High: 26°C | Low: 15°C

  • Hornsea

    Sunny

    High: 28°C | Low: 15°C

  • Driffield

    Sunny

    High: 27°C | Low: 15°C

News