A dinghy carrying 140 asylum seekers made a record 70-mile Channel crossing from Normandy to Portsmouth, escorted by five French rescue boats and two helicopters, prompting fears that people-smuggling routes are shifting away from the traditional Calais-to-Dover corridor to target Britain's wider south coast. The unusually long and dangerous journey, more than double the typical crossing distance, ended in disorder onshore as anti-migrant protesters waded into the sea to confront arrivals and later blocked roads to stop coaches removing them for processing.

The boat left an unpatrolled beach near Jobourg on Sunday morning carrying 20 women and eight young children, but suffered engine failure roughly 14 miles out, triggering Mayday calls. French authorities decided against intercepting the overcrowded vessel, instead issuing lifejackets and shadowing it for ten hours before British lifeboats, a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft took over for the final four hours, bringing everyone ashore safely after 14 hours at sea. The Portsmouth landing sparked clashes with riot police and roadblocks by around 500 protesters, while Hampshire and Isle of Wight police and crime commissioner Donna Jones warned it would be a "significant issue" if smugglers began routinely targeting destinations beyond Dover.