YVETTE Cooper believes she is turning the tide on Channel crossings after arrivals last month fell to the lowest in four years.
The Home Secretary is hopeful as 4,190 migrants arrived in September, down from 4,729 in 2023.
It is the lowest since September 2020 when just 1,946 crossed in small boats from France.
The National Crime Agency has stepped up its efforts to flush out people-smuggling gangs.
Ms Cooper is heading to Rome today for a G7 meeting where illegal migration tops the agenda.
A Home Office source said: “It is very early days and no-one is getting carried away with one month's figures.
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"But what we have hopefully started to see is the difference from disrupting the supply chains of the smuggling gangs.”
Martin Hewitt — the new Border Security Commander — will start his job next week.