Man with knife confronts UK-bound dinghy as small boat crossings resume after 21-day lull

Footage of a man wading through waist-deep water towards a dinghy while holding a knife has put a violent edge on the return of small boat crossings in the English Channel. The incident was filmed off Hardelot, France, on Friday 30 October, as attempts resumed after a three-week break caused by strong winds and high swells.

The video was captured by the Press Association. It shows the man moving towards the boat in the water, and a person on board trying to fend him off by hitting him with a boot. As he draws back his arm, he appears to drop the knife into the sea.

What the footage shows, and what remains unclear

The sources differ on what happened next. The Evening Standard, citing the PA footage, reported that the man boarded the UK-bound boat moments after the knife appeared to fall into the water. The Express, using the same footage, said he did not appear to board. The reports do not reconcile this.

The Standard also reported that a call of “I will kill you” was heard while French rescue boats hovered a short distance away. The reports do not say who made the call, and none identifies the man with the knife. None mentions an arrest, a police statement or any injury, so his identity, his reasons and the outcome of the confrontation are all unknown.

Small boat crossings restart after the longest pause of the year

The confrontation came as the Channel reopened to traffic. The 21-day gap in arrivals was the longest of 2026 so far. On Thursday 29 October, the Home Office said, 263 migrants reached the UK. Several children were among a large group in life-jackets brought ashore in Dover, Kent, in calmer conditions. PA also saw at least two boats leaving the French coast in the early hours of Friday.

After the three boats that crossed on Thursday, the Home Office put the 2026 total at 21,198. That is 43% lower than at this point last year (36,954) and 29% below the same stage of 2024 (29,867). With just over two months left, and crossings usually falling in late autumn and winter, the figures suggest this year is unlikely to exceed 2025.

Political reaction

The week’s coverage also focused on a boat reportedly painted red, white and green with the golden sun of the Kurdish flag, which launched from Belgium on Thursday. It was not clear whether it was among the boats that completed the crossing. Reports say Iraqi Kurds are believed to be key players in dinghy crossings.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said on X that gangs were “painting the boats their national colours”, adding: “We’re being invaded from Calais, Normandy – and now Belgium too. I will deploy the Royal Navy and stop the boats forever.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Downing Street was not aware of the specific dinghy and had not seen the knife incident. “We are not complacent. We know that there’s more to do,” he said, adding that the government would work with international partners.

A Home Office spokesperson said crossings were “down significantly” and that the department had just recorded its lowest number of summer arrivals since 2020. They said joint work with international partners had prevented more than 50,000 crossing attempts and seized 1,100 boats and engines since the election. The department said it was increasing the number of officers on the ground in France and removing “pull factors”.

The footage is a reminder that the official figures on small boat crossings do not capture what happens on French beaches before boats leave, where people are wading into the water to board overcrowded dinghies. The sources give no further detail on the knife incident, and any investigation or official response has yet to be reported.

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