Over 100,000 people now likely to have crossed Channel in small boats since records began
The number of people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the past five years is now likely to have passed 100,000.
Government figures show that since 2018, when records began, 99,960 people have made the perilous journey from France to the UK as of Tuesday.
With more than 40 people believed to have landed on UK shores on small boats earlier today, it is likely the 100,000 threshold has now been crossed.
The figures show a huge year-on-year surge, with just 299 small boat arrivals in 2018 compared with 28,526 in 2021 and 45,755 in 2022.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made stopping the small boat crossings one of his five key priorities for his government.
But his plans for bringing down illegal immigration have been mired in difficulty and delay.
This week 15 people were moved on to the Bibby Stockholm barge after legal challenges prevented 20 others from being transferred to the vessel.
The accommodation, off the coast of Dorset, is ultimately intended to house 500 single men – though that is less than 1% of the people waiting for their claims to be heard.
People, believed to be migrants, were brought to Dover following a small boat incident in the Channel on Thursday
More than 40 people are thought to have arrived in the UK on Thursday having tried to cross the Channel in a small boat
As well as barges, the government wants to use tents and military bases as cheaper forms of accommodation than hotels, which the Home Office says are costing taxpayers £6m a day.
But Labour argues the new sites are being used in addition to hotels, not instead of, and ministers should focus on cutting the asylum case backlog and targeting people-smuggling gangs.
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What’s it like onboard the Bibby Stockholm?
The government ultimately wants to deport people who arrive by small boat to Rwanda, but the £140mn scheme has been stalled since last June due to a series of legal challenges, meaning no one has been sent to the east African nation yet.
Deputy Tory chairman Lee Anderson, who was embroiled in a row this week after saying migrants who did not like barges should “f*** off back to France”, admitted the government was failing on immigration.
The Bibby Stockholm is being used as an accommodation vessel for asylum seekers
However, cabinet ministers have defended the immigration strategy amid a series of Home Office announcements this week, such as a crackdown on immigration lawyers helping migrants “exploit” the system, and a new partnership with Turkey to disrupt people-smuggling gangs.
Central to the prime minister’s “stop the boats” pledge is the controversial Illegal Immigration Bill, which was passed last month after the government saw off multiple challenges in the Lords.
This will ban anyone who enters the UK through unauthorised means from claiming asylum, allowing the government to deport them.
Flashy, headline-grabbing policies are not stopping the boats
A grim yet inevitable milestone that the prime minister will have been dreading – the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats looks likely to have finally reached 100,000.
The timing of these figures will not have been lost on Rishi Sunak – it is “small boats week” after all.
Having already seen Tory party deputy chairman Lee Anderson this week undermine the government’s efforts to stop the boats – admitting his party’s immigration policy has failed – this week has certainly not gone to plan for the government.
But it’s numbers like these that underpin Mr Anderson’s frustrations.
With crossings having increased at an astonishing rate under 13 years of a Conservative government, despite their best efforts, the Tories will find it incredibly difficult to spin that this rise in crossings is on Labour.
What’s more is that these figures are in direct conflict with government rhetoric: talking tough and announcing policies to curb Channel crossings.
But the facts speak for themselves. Flashy policies like relocating people to Rwanda evidently aren’t working.
Rishi Sunak has asked voters to judge him on his record and delivery on his five pledges, but this particular pledge looks set to continue to cause him considerable political pain.
Officials are still working on when the legislation will come into force. Questions remain about whether the bill will comply with international law, and where people will be sent if their home countries are not safe and returns agreements are not in place.
Ministers have hinted at leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), a treaty that underpins the country’s duty to help migrants, to better protect the UK’s borders.
Read More:
Is the government’s new Illegal Migration Bill legal?
‘F*** off back to France’ comment ‘shows Tory failings on immigration’
But reports on Thursday suggested Mr Sunak’s cabinet is split on the matter, as the move would put the UK at odds with the majority of European nations and could also cause complications over the operation of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland and post-Brexit deals with the EU.
A Home Office spokesperson said on Thursday: “The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making these dangerous crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.
“Our priority is to stop the boats, and our Small Boats Operational Command is working alongside our French partners and other agencies to disrupt the people smugglers.
“The government is going even further through our Illegal Migration Act which will mean that people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.”
Despite the ongoing market meltdown on US trade tariffs, executives at major cryptocurrency firms Messari and Sygnum are bullish on institutional Bitcoin adoption later in 2025.
Speaking on a panel at Paris Blockchain Week on April 8, Messari CEO Eric Turner and Sygnum Bank co-founder Thomas Eichenberger said they expect a significant shift in the banking sector’s involvement with crypto in the second half of the year.
According to the executives, the global banking push into Bitcoin (BTC) services has great potential to happen in the second half of 2025 as regulators embrace crypto, including stablecoins and crypto services by banks.
“I think we’re probably looking at a muted Q2, but I’m really excited for Q3 and Q4,” Messari’s Turner said during the panel discussion moderated by Cointelegraph CEO Yana Prikhodchenko, forecasting “really interesting” things coming to the crypto market in 2025.
Crypto adoption is not just about Trump
While some investors focus on the pro-crypto stance of US President Donald Trump, Turner emphasized that broader regulatory momentum is what matters most.
“When you look at the potential of having market structure regulation in the US, stablecoin regulation, and just the fact that across the board, not just President Trump himself, but the SEC and all these regulatory industries are really embracing crypto,” Turner said.
Paris Blockchain Week’s panel with Cointelegraph CEO Yana Prikhodchenko, Bancor co-founder Eyal Hertzog, Sygnum co-founder Thomas Eichenberger, Messari CEO Eric Turner, AWS fintech leader Alex Matsuo and Near chief operating officer Chris Donovan. Source: Cointelegraph
Sygnum co-founder Thomas Eichenberger said international banks with US branches are also poised to enter the market once the legal landscape becomes clearer:
“I think it’s a matter of fact that US banks are preparing to be able to offer crypto custody and at least crypto spot trading services anytime soon.”
“I think by then I would agree with you, Eric,” he continued, projecting a continued phase of market uncertainty until the US establishes a clear regulatory framework.
Related: Ripple acquires crypto-friendly prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25B
Banks are no longer afraid of Bitcoin regulators
With the establishment of clear crypto rules for banks in the US, there will be a rush for crypto services by large international banks that are incorporated outside of the US but have a US-based presence, Eichenberger said.
“Some of them may have had their strategic plans in their cupboard to offer crypto-related services, but have been afraid that at some point they will be gone after by any of the US regulatory authorities,” he said, adding:
“Now I think there’s no one to be afraid of anymore in terms of regulatory authorities worldwide. So I think many of the large international banks will launch this year.”
Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again
Global trade tensions triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures may come to an end with a potential deal with China as investors remain concerned about escalation from both sides.
Trump’s April 2 announcement of reciprocal import tariffs sent shockwaves through global equity and crypto markets. The measures include a 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods, effective April 5, with higher levies — such as a 34% tariff on Chinese imports — set to begin on April 9.
However, the tariff negotiations may only be “posturing” for the US to reach an agreement with China, according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.
“In the end, almost all the other tariff negotiations and rhetoric are all about getting China to agree a deal,” Pal wrote in an April 8 X post, adding:
“That is the big prize and both China and the US understand it and need it. Everything else is negotiation posturing. China needs a weaker $ and the US needs tariffs.”
Source: Raoul Pal
“Also, the US is trying to shut down China tariff arbitrage using other channels such as Mexico or Vietnam,” Pal said.
Related: Bitcoin price can hit $250K in 2025 if Fed shifts to QE: Arthur Hayes
China retaliates with new tariffs
Considering China’s latest retaliatory measures, a resolution remains unlikely in the short term.
In response to US tariffs, China imposed a 34% tariff on all US imports effective April 10, media outlet Xinhua News reported on April 4. China’s foreign ministry also vowed to “fight till the end” against Trump’s tariffs, which it called “bullying” by the world’s largest economy.
China overtakes the US in global trade. Source: Econovis
China overtook the US in 2012 to become the world’s largest trading nation by the total value of exports and imports, surpassing $4 trillion in goods trade that year, according to The Guardian.
Crypto markets watch trade outcome closely
As the trade dispute continues to evolve, analysts say a potential agreement between the two global superpowers could serve as a key catalyst for recovery in digital asset markets.
Crypto markets have a 70% chance to bottom by June 2025 before recovering, Nansen analysts predicted.
Related: Crypto market bottom likely by June despite tariff fears: Finance Redefined
Investor appetite for risk assets such as Bitcoin will depend on the global tariff responses from other countries, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.
“We have reached somewhat of a local bottom in regard to tariffs and the impact on prices,” the analyst said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X, adding:
“Trump came out guns blazing, and we’ve mostly seen the worst from the US side, so we’ll see if other countries are willing to drop some of the tariffs because it’s very likely the US will do the same.”
Magazine: Bitcoin ATH sooner than expected? XRP may drop 40%, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 23 – 29
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