Daily Express misstates small boat arrivals data

“More than 23,000 have arrived since Labour took power last July, up from 17,000 over the same period in 2023.”

A front page article in the Daily Express today claims that “more than 23,000” people have arrived in the UK by small boat since Labour came into office last July, “up from 17,000 over the same period in 2023”.

The 17,000 figure was also used in a version of the article published online.

It’s true that since Labour came into government on 5 July 2024 there have been more than 23,000 small boat arrivals. The latest data available to 4 January 2025 gives the precise number as 23,303, though the most recent figures are provisional and subject to change.

But the comparative figure for the same period the previous year is higher than claimed by the Express.

Between 5 July 2023 and 4 January 2024 there were a total of 18,004 small boat arrivals—around 1,000 more than the Express stated. (And while the Express wasn’t entirely clear if it was considering the figures to 31 December 2023 or to 4 January 2023, the figure for either period is the same.)

These figures suggest that small boat arrivals have increased under Labour by about 29% compared to the same period the previous year, rather than 35% as implied by the Express’ comparative figure. It’s worth noting that a 29% increase was correctly referenced by Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp MP in the same edition of the paper. 

Newspapers which are regulated by IPSO must comply with the Editors’ Code of Practice, which states: “The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text.” 

We’ve contacted the Daily Express for comment and will update this fact check if we receive a response.