GB News halted for breaking migrant alert as hundreds arrive in UK

GB News was halted for a major breaking alert live from Dover, as Border Force vessels carrying 900 migrants arrived onshore. During Sunday’s (May 24) programme, presenter Charlie Peters was joined by National Reporter Will Godley via video link, who confirmed the warm weather made it the perfect conditions for hundreds of small boats. He said: “It’s hot, it’s sunny, the sea’s calm and all of that is being taken advantage of by the people smugglers sending out small boats on mass this weekend.”

The reporter continued: “The last three days, more than 900 small boat migrants arrived here in the port of Dover, almost doubling the total for May. “With the hot weather continuing today and into tomorrow, it’s likely that number could increase.” Will revealed: “Two border force vessels arrived here in the port, both of them carrying small boat migrants…

“The first arrived just after 1pm this afternoon, and on board there were 83 small boat migrants, including 15 women and seven children, according to our GB News provisional figures.

“And then, some 20 minutes later, we saw arrive and dock in port the Border Force vessel Defender. On that boat, there were 74 small boat migrants, among them 10 women and three children, including a tiny baby being carried off the boat as well.”

Will continued: “Both of those boats met small boats in the channel at midday, at the halfway mark between England and France, and the small boats set off from the French coast just after 4:00 in the morning.

“In the early hours of the morning, another small boat made the crossing today, taking the total to three, and that small boat set off from the Wimereux area of France.

This boat crossing marks the first time in nearly two weeks that a migrants have crossed the English Channel.

Despite this, the number of arrivals is down 44% on this time last year, and 23% on the same point in 2024.

It comes after it was revealed that UK net migration dropped to an estimated 171,000 last year, the lowest level since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The figures for the 12 months to December are down 48% compared with the previous year (331,000), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It is the first time the estimate, which is the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country, has fallen below 200,000 since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.