People smugglers are still profiting from small boats. Can the UK fix the crisis?
The Guardian reports on the ongoing challenges of stopping people smugglers operating small boats across the English Channel. Despite increased police presence and shifting government policies, asylum seekers continue to risk the crossing.
Why it matters
The persistence of small-boat crossings remains a highly contentious political issue in the UK, highlighting the limitations of current border enforcement strategies.
People run away from teargas fired by police as they try to cross the Channel from Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais. People run away from teargas fired by police as they try to cross the Channel from Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais. Immigration and asylum People smugglers are still profiting from small boats. Can the UK fix the crisis? As ‘one in, one out’ scheme ends, refugees still want to cross the Channel despite French police aggression and hostile welcomes
Diane Taylor Sun 11 Oct 2026 13.00 BST Last modified on Sun 11 Oct 2026 13.02 BST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google The smuggler works quickly. Using a small shovel, he digs up a dinghy buried in a sand dune on a beach not far from Boulogne-sur-Mer, assembles it and affixes a motor in record time.
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