Minister agrees small boats crossings mainly men after Question Time claim

Darren Jones has said he agrees most people arriving by crossing the Channel in small boats are men, after previously appearing to suggest the majority are “children, babies and women”.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury faced criticism for his remarks on the BBC’s Question Time and sought to clarify that he was referring to a single boat that arrived when he visited the UK Border Security Command.

Writing on social media site X, Mr Jones said: “Of course the overall majority of people arriving illegally on small boats are men – but not ‘north of 90%’ as Reform claimed.

“On BBC Question Time, I shared a story from my visit to the Border Security Command about a dinghy that arrived mostly carrying women, children and babies who had suffered horrific burns.

“I’m happy to clarify this given how this is now being misrepresented.”

Mr Jones said on Thursday’s Question Time that “the majority of the people in these boats are children, babies and women”.

PA news agency analysis of Home Office data indicates that adult males made up 73% of small boat arrivals from January 2018 to March 2025 where details of age and sex were recorded.

A further 9% of these arrivals were adult females and 16% were under 18.

Speaking on the BBC programme, Mr Jones said that the Government had been returning people, and also spoke about a visit to the Border Security Command.

“When you’re there on the site seeing these dinghies put together by these organised criminal gangs which are clearly not safe, and when you see that the majority of people in these boats are children, babies and women…” he said.

He later added: “When there are babies and children put into that position by human trafficking gangs who are coming across on the Channel with skin burns from the oil from those boats mixing with the salt seawater.

“I would ask any of you to look at those babies and children and say ‘go back where you came from’.”

He also said that the immigration system was “left out of control” by the Conservatives.

Asked about Mr Jones’s comments, a Number 10 spokesman said on Friday: “The Government is absolutely focused on tackling these vile smuggling gangs that risk lives in the Channel.”

Asked if the Prime Minister had confidence in Mr Jones, the spokesman said: “Yes.”

The Conservatives accused Mr Jones of being “completely out of touch with reality”.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “No wonder this is shaping up to be the worst year on record for small boat crossings.

“If this is what passes for reality inside the Labour Government, Britain is in serious trouble.”

People were pictured arriving in Dover on Friday.

Figures up to Thursday indicated that 15,264 people have arrived on small boats so far in 2025.

The most on a single day this year was recorded on May 31, when 1,195 people arrived across 19 boats.