It follows yesterday’s small boat arrival where migrants were going to be brought to Hampshire

The Home Secretary has ordered an urgent review after Border Force failed to intercept a second migrant boat in two days before they reached the Kent coast.

Twenty-one people have been detained by Border Security Command after a boat arrived on the beach of Samphire Hoe, Dover, yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. The Home Office has not said whether more people from the boat were being sought.

It happened at the same time as migrants were crossing the Channel from Normandy yesterday afternoon, prompting HM Coastguard to instead ask the RNLI for help as ‘Border Force vessels were unavailable’.

Pictured is Fort Blockhouse where coaches, ambulances and police were waiting to accept migrants, which didn’t happen - HMS Alliance submarine right. | Submitted

placeholder image — Pictured is Fort Blockhouse where coaches, ambulances and police were waiting to accept migrants, which didn’t happen - HMS Alliance submarine right. | Submitted

Originally it was planned to bring that group of 51 migrants to Fort Blockhouse in Gosport, but this was abandoned and they were eventually transported by Border Force to Dover.

The department said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has now ordered an urgent review by Border Security Command into the beach landings after a dinghy also made it to shore at Folkestone on Monday morning – the first undetected landing for a year.

Before Monday, no small boat arrivals to the UK coast without an escort had been officially recorded since September 6 2025.

Meanwhile, a man believed to be a migrant was found dead on a beach in northern France on Wednesday, French authorities have said.

In a translated statement, a spokesperson for the Pas-de-Calais prefecture said: “The lifeless body of a man, who appeared to be of African origin, was discovered this morning on the Neufchatel-Hardelot beach.

“An investigation has been launched by the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor’s office.”

The probe will examine whether the death was linked to an attempted English Channel crossing, according to French media reports.

Some 17,480 migrants have arrived after crossing the Channel by boat so far this year, including 5,011 since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. The total so far for 2026 is down 46% on the same point last year.