Britain’s Home Office distributed 974 hijabs to migrants arriving by small boat during the first six months of 2026, defending the provision of religious clothing as part of its legal welfare responsibilities toward new arrivals.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Britain’s Home Office provided nearly 1,000 hijabs to migrants who reached the United Kingdom in small boats during the first half of 2026, according to government figures disclosed amid renewed scrutiny of taxpayer-funded support for people entering through unauthorized Channel crossings.
Between January and June, 974 of the Islamic head coverings were distributed to small-boat arrivals, an average of approximately 162 per month, according to figures reported by GB News. Maintaining that monthly pace through the remainder of the year would put the annual total well above 1,500.
‘Don’t act surprised when Britain no longer looks like the Britain you grew up in.’
GB News’ @Benleo reveals that 1000 hijabs have been handed out to small-boat migrants using taxpayers’ money, arguing that Britain needs to stop looking like it ‘comes with a welcome pack’. https://t.co/d3e8M4gtQK
— GB News (@GBNEWS) October 3, 2026
The Home Office defended the practice, saying people arriving without adequate clothing must be provided with basic garments and that its responsibilities include accommodating religious and cultural needs.
“All arrivals receive a basic dry clothing pack where required. The items available form part of standard welfare arrangements,” a Home Office official said.
Hijabs are included among the clothing available when required because the government considers religious garments part of the basic needs it must address while migrants are being processed or housed under the asylum-support system. Religious and cultural requirements may also be accommodated while asylum seekers remain in government-funded housing.
The disclosure comes as Britain continues to grapple with large numbers of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats and the financial cost of accommodating people who subsequently enter the asylum system.
More than 205,000 people were detected arriving in Britain by small boat between 2018 and June 2026, according to House of Commons Library figures based on Home Office data. The crossings began at significant scale in 2018, when 299 people were recorded, before reaching a peak of nearly 46,000 in 2022.
Official Home Office immigration statistics recorded 33,374 small-boat arrivals during the 12 months ending in June 2026, down 23% from 43,309 during the previous 12-month period. The figures show small boats accounted for 88% of detected arrivals through illegal entry routes during that period.
Approximately 72% of small-boat arrivals during the year ending June 2026 were adult men, according to parliamentary analysis, while adult women accounted for about 13% and children approximately 15%. Migrants from more than 70 nationalities have been recorded among Channel arrivals over the course of the small-boat phenomenon.
The government’s decision to provide hijabs as part of arrival welfare packages drew criticism from Reform UK MP Andrew Rosindell, who argued that supplying goods to people who entered through unauthorized routes risks creating an additional incentive to make the journey.
“I don’t know why we should be giving these people anything,” Rosindell told GB News.
“They’re coming in illegally, and if they’re coming in illegally, we shouldn’t be incentivising people by making them feel like they’re getting everything given to them on a plate.
“You couldn’t make it up. The British state is acting in a way that is encouraging people to come to this country.
“Don’t they realise that British people have had enough? They don’t want all these people coming to this country illegally.”
The Home Office’s position is that supplying basic clothing is a welfare obligation rather than an immigration incentive. People arriving after Channel crossings may be wet, cold or without suitable clothing, requiring authorities to provide replacement garments during initial processing. The government maintains that religious clothing can fall within those same welfare arrangements when needed.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of a costly asylum-support system that successive British governments have sought to reduce.
The Home Office said in June that Britain spent approximately £4 billion on asylum accommodation and support during the 2024-25 financial year. The government said costs had already fallen by nearly £1 billion since it took office and announced measures requiring asylum seekers who later become financially able to contribute toward the cost of support they received.
Separate parliamentary accounting showed approximately £2.7 billion of that £4 billion was spent specifically on accommodation. Hotels have been among the most expensive forms of housing, leading the government to pursue plans to close asylum hotels and expand the use of other facilities, including former military sites.
As of June 30, 2026, 93,293 people were receiving asylum support, according to Home Office statistics. That was 12% fewer than a year earlier. Of those receiving support, 16,021 were living in hotels, a 50% decline from June 2025 and a 71% decline from the September 2023 peak.
The government has simultaneously continued efforts to reduce Channel crossings while restructuring the asylum system and its associated costs. Home Office figures show that 95% of people who have arrived by small boat since 2018 have subsequently claimed asylum.
The latest disclosure over hijabs has focused attention on a comparatively small part of that broader support system but has become another point of political disagreement over what assistance the government should provide after people reach Britain through an unauthorized route.
The Home Office maintains that basic clothing, including religious clothing where required, forms part of the welfare arrangements authorities are obligated to provide while migrants are being processed and accommodated.
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