UK and France deploy new team to stop ‘mega dinghies’ crossing Channel

A new team of 45 officers will be deployed on French beaches in the coming weeks, specifically tasked with stopping “mega dinghy” launches along the coast.

The additional boots on the ground will bring the total number of French officers battling to stop small boat launches to nearly 1,050, the government has announced.

The move comes as French president Emmanuel Macron meets with prime minister Andy Burnham in London on Wednesday.

Small boat crossings to the UK have fallen by 23 per cent year-on-year, data up to the end of June 2026 shows, mirroring similar trends across Europe.

French police teams funded by the UK prevented 185 small boat crossings between 27 April and 2 August, the Home Office said this week.

The UK is paying France around £662m over the next three years to fund policing of the northern French beaches. Around £160m of this money has been earmarked for new tactics, such as policing to stop “taxi boats” picking up migrants offshore, and is conditional on the success of the French operation.

While the number of migrants arriving to the UK on small boats is going down, the number of people that smugglers are cramming onto the flimsy dinghies has been rising.

Last month, a record 230 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in a single boat.

The “mega dinghy” was seen “buckling” in the water and could have led to tragedy, according to French rescuers. The number breaks the previous record from July when 165 people successfully made the crossing.

In a move to clamp down on the super-sized boats, the team of 45 officers has been tasked with stopping the launches.

A specialist French intelligence and judicial unit will also be expanded from 18 to 30 officers, with the team focussing on disrupting the people-smuggling networks that organise the illegal trade.

Prime minister Andy Burnham said on Wednesday: “The progress we have seen this summer shows what can be achieved when the UK and France works together.

“But I am clear that we cannot be complacent. Smuggling gangs are constantly adapting their tactics, and the UK and France need to respond quickly and stay one step ahead of the criminals facilitating the dangerous crossings.”

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood said the work was “bearing fruit”, adding: “We are boosting officer numbers to record highs to crack down on small boat launches and the gangs behind them.”