A BBC investigation finds organised people-smuggling gangs have turned to larger inflatable "mega-dinghies" after a drop in small boats reaching the UK. The image of a 15-metre vessel carrying a record 230 migrants provoked condemnation from newspapers and politicians and reflected a deliberate shift by smugglers who are now loading more people onto fewer, larger boats. BBC reporters on France's northern shore were attacked with stones and a cameraman was injured while documenting gangs that say they are running low on small boats. Gangs are cooperating across former rival networks and quoting up to €2,000 per person, up from about €1,300 a year earlier, with payment now demanded in cash. French police say they are intercepting about two thirds of small boats before they reach the coast, and on 4 August 170 people had to be rescued after a vessel caught fire mid-Channel. In response, the UK and France announced plans to increase police officers on the French coast, a measure timed ahead of a Downing Street meeting between Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron.
