Labour leader Keir Starmer has said migrants arriving on small boats will be detained and sent back, as he faces pressure to show progress on Channel crossings and to end the use of asylum hotels. The latest figures indicate crossings by small boats remain at a record level for this point in the year, and protests over hotel housing for asylum seekers continued.

Former Labour lord chancellor Lord Falconer warned that support for Reform UK could grow unless the Government delivers results. In a social media post, Starmer said: “I am clear: we will not reward illegal entry. If you cross the Channel unlawfully, you will be detained and sent back.” The two countries are piloting a scheme under which migrants arriving on small boats would be returned to France in exchange for an asylum seeker being moved from the continent on a legal route. The pilot is expected to involve only a small fraction of arrivals; the year-to-date total stands at 29,003 in 2025, a record for this point in the year.

Ministers won a Court of Appeal challenge against an injunction that would have moved asylum seekers from the Bell Hotel in Epping; ministers say they expect further legal fights and protests over hotel use nationwide. Lord Falconer argued the Government should pursue action to close hotels and curb crossings, while rejecting any plan to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. He said the aim is to deter arrivals without placing people in danger, and that deportations to third countries may be possible in some cases. If the Epping injunction had not been overturned, 138 asylum seekers would have been able to stay at the Bell Hotel beyond 12 September. Demonstrations linked to the case included two bloggers from Leicester who travelled to the protest but turnout was low; two men were charged after the event: Ross Ellis, 49, charged with failing to provide a specimen, and Jimmy Hillard, 52, charged with assaulting an emergency worker; a third man remains in custody for violent disorder. Epping Forest District Council will decide on Monday whether to take the matter to the Supreme Court, and several Labour‑run councils are weighing similar action against the use of asylum hotels; Badenoch urged councils to pursue this route. Reform UK remains ahead in polls, and Nigel Farage has claimed the Government has used the ECHR against the people of Epping.