Britain23 September, 20262 min read
Shabana Mahmood Orders Urgent Review After Undetected Migrant Boats Reach Kent Coast
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Two migrant boats landed on Kent shores without interception; 21 people detained. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review into Border Force handling.
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Unacceptable landings, urgent review
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said migrant landings on UK beaches are "not acceptable" and ordered an urgent review after two boats reached Kent without being intercepted. Border Security Command detained 21 people after a boat arrived at Samphire Hoe, between Dover and Folkestone, on Tuesday, and the Home Office said five people were detained after an uncontrolled landing near Folkestone on Monday. Mahmood told Border Security Command to carry out the review after vessels came ashore at Samphire Hoe on Tuesday and near Folkestone on Monday, and she said the first undetected landing for a year occurred on Monday.
Mahmood said the beach landings were "a reminder of two things" and she added that "Firstly, these gangs have no regard for human life." Mahmood said she had ordered an urgent review by Border Security Command into how the landings happened and what must be done to ensure it does not happen again.
Detentions and what was known
A government spokesperson said Border Security Command officers alongside Kent Police were responding to an incident in Dover and that "Twenty-one individuals have already been detained under a swift enforcement response." The Home Office said it had not stated whether more people were being sought after the Samphire Hoe arrival, and the Home Office also said it would be inappropriate to comment further. Border Force failed to intercept a second migrant boat in two days before it reached the Kent coast, and a dinghy made it to shore at Folkestone on Monday morning.
The urgent review ordered by the Home Secretary followed Border Force failing to intercept a second migrant boat in two days before they reached the Kent coast, and 21 people were detained after the Samphire Hoe landing on Tuesday afternoon. It was planned to bring a group of 51 migrants to Fort Blockhouse in Gosport, but that plan was abandoned and the group was eventually transported by Border Force to Dover.
Numbers, France death, and stakes
17,784 migrants had arrived in the UK this year after crossing the Channel in small boats, and the total so far was down 44.7% compared with figures for 22 September 2025. A total of 17,784 migrants had arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in small boats so far this year, and the total for 2026 was down 45% on the same point last year. On Monday and Tuesday, a total of six boats arrived, carrying 304 migrants, and uncontrolled landings were extremely rare.
“It takes the total of migrants to have arrived in the UK this year to 17,784.”
A man believed to be a migrant was found dead on a beach in northern France on Wednesday, and a Pas-de-Calais prefecture spokesperson said: "The lifeless body of a man, who appeared to be of African origin, was discovered this morning on the Neufchatel-Hardelot beach." Migrants crossing the Channel are usually brought to shore by Border Security Command or RNLI boats, and the Home Office had not said whether more people are being sought after the Samphire Hoe and Folkestone landings.