Mahmood orders urgent review after two undetected migrant boat landings in Kent

Home Secretary orders review after undetected Kent landings

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered an urgent review by Border Security Command after two small boats crossed the Channel and landed on Kent beaches without being intercepted this week. She called the uncontrolled landings unacceptable and said even one was too many. The review will look at how it happened and what must be done to stop it happening again.

The first boat landed on Monday at the Warren near Folkestone. Five migrants were detained after a small dinghy came ashore. The second landed on Tuesday at Samphire Hoe between Folkestone and Dover. Twenty-one people were detained after a larger inflatable boat came ashore. In total, 26 people were detained. The Home Office has not said whether more people are being sought. Around 10 migrants are thought to be missing, and it is not clear how many may have walked away.

Uncontrolled landings are rare. Before this week, there had been only one recorded in three years, and the last one was a year ago. Border Security Command has drones, planes, radar and specialist boats. French police patrol beaches on the other side of the Channel with UK funding. It is not clear why these boats got through. Officials say it is too early to say whether people smugglers have changed tactics or whether this was a coincidence. Possible explanations include smaller boats being harder to detect or an operational issue on the UK side. Smugglers have been shifting routes further west, launching from Normandy and D-Day beaches and making longer, more dangerous crossings. Crossings are down 45% year on year, with more than 17,500 arrivals so far this year, but the numbers remain high. Officials are concerned that people arriving without any record pose a security risk.

A separate incident also drew attention this week. A larger inflatable carrying around 50 migrants set off from Normandy, spent more than 30 hours at sea, and refused help from French vessels. It entered UK waters and was picked up by two lifeboats before the migrants were transferred to a Border Force vessel and taken to Dover, not Gosport. Anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas filmed the transfer live from a speedboat. He also filmed himself slashing the dinghy with a knife while a French Coast Guard official was on board. Hampshire police said they are aware of video circulating online and are conducting inquiries.

The incident came as protesters gathered in Gosport after rumours that migrants would be brought ashore there. Six people were arrested, including two men from Salisbury and four people from Gosport, held on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker. Two women and a man were later charged with assaulting an emergency worker. Some protesters threw beer at police and hurled abuse. A Reform councillor and the local Conservative MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage, posted online to say a small boat was set to arrive in the town. The leader of Gosport Borough Council said most of her information came from a vigilante live stream and criticised slow communication from the Home Office and Border Force.

Politically, the review has become part of a wider argument about border security. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said border security had descended into chaos. The government pointed to a 44% to 45% fall in crossings year on year, though more than 17,500 people have arrived so far this year. The Home Secretary said improved monitoring had made uncontrolled crossings incredibly rare. Critics questioned what a review would achieve, while supporters said enforcement is working but gaps remain.