A BBC investigation has found that people-smuggling gangs on the northern French coast are turning to "mega-dinghies" carrying far larger numbers of migrants, after a drop in the supply of small boats and tighter policing forced rival criminal groups to pool resources. This shift follows the widely condemned image of a 15-metre boat carrying a record 230 migrants towards the UK, which prompted accusations that ministers were "losing control" of Channel crossings and renewed criticism of French police for not intervening at sea. The change matters because it increases the danger to migrants packed onto fewer, larger vessels, as seen when 170 people had to be rescued in August after their boat caught fire mid-Channel.

French officers say they now intercept roughly two-thirds of small boats before they reach the coast, squeezing supply and pushing prices up from around €1,300 a year ago to as much as €2,000 (£1,700) per person, now demanded in cash to ensure commitment. BBC reporters witnessed the process on Gravelines beach, where migrants, including people who said they were from Afghanistan, calmly boarded a "taxi boat" launched from further away, in this case Belgium, to avoid detection, while French police said they were unable to intervene once vessels were in the water for fear of causing drownings. The report comes as the UK and France prepare to boost policing along the French coast, ahead of a visit by President Emmanuel Macron to Downing Street to meet Prime Minister Andy Burnham.