Home Office figures showed a stretch between 14 November and yesterday (12 December) without arrivals, making it the longest uninterrupted run since autumn 2018.

However, a number of Border Force vessels were active in the English Channel on Saturday morning, and it is thought that around 160 people from two small boats have been picked up.

So far, 39,292 people have crossed to the UK aboard small boats this year - already more than any other year except 2022.

The record that year was set at 45,774 arrivals.

It comes as the government has stepped up efforts in recent months to deter people from risking their lives crossing the Channel - but measures are not expected to have an impact until next year.

December is normally one of the quietest for Channel crossings, with a combination of poor visibility, low temperatures, less daylight and stormy weather making the perilous journey more difficult.

The most arrivals recorded in the month of December is 3,254, in 2024.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy met with ministers from other European countries this week as discussions over possible reform to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) continue.

The issue of small boat arrivals - a very small percentage of overall UK immigration - has become a salient issue in British politics in recent years.

Last month, French maritime police announced they would soon be able to intercept boats in the English Channel.

The Mail on Sunday claimed in October that Andrew tried to get his personal protection officer to investigate the woman who accused him of sexual assault for a smear campaign in 2011.

He reportedly passed Ms Giuffre's date of birth and social security number to his taxpayer-funded bodyguard in 2011 and emailed the late Queen's then-deputy press secretary telling him of his request.

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But the Met said an assessment of the allegations "has not revealed any additional evidence of criminal acts or misconduct" since the force last looked at the case.

In a statement after the announcement, Ms Giuffre's family said they were "deeply disappointed" police had dropped the probe "without explanation", adding they had not been told the announcement was coming.

Ms Giuffre, who was trafficked by the late Jeffrey Epstein and his then partner Ghislaine Maxwell, alleged she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17 in 2001 - allegations he has always denied.

She died in April, aged 41, with her family saying she "lost her life to suicide".

The Met said the force first received allegations, including one of trafficking to central London in 2001, in 2015, and Ms Giuffre was interviewed as part of an assessment of the evidence.

But the force decided not to launch a full criminal investigation in 2016 after officers and prosecutors concluded other international authorities were best placed to act on the allegations, which primarily concerned events outside the UK.

Central Specialist Crime Commander Ella Marriott, said the decision was reviewed in August 2019 and again in 2021 and 2022, but the position "remained unchanged".

"Following recent reporting suggesting that Mr Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor asked his Met Police close protection officer to carry out checks on Ms Giuffre in 2011, the MPS has carried out a further assessment," she said.

"This assessment has not revealed any additional evidence of criminal acts or misconduct."

The Met's announcement comes after Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a tranche of images, which include Andrew, from the so-called Epstein files, which are due to be released in full by the end of next week.

There is no suggestion that the pictures imply any wrongdoing.

Ms Giuffre's family 'surprised' by decision

Ms Giuffre's family said they were in email contact with a Met detective on Friday, who gave no indication of the decision and asked if they had any evidence they wanted to present.

"We had not yet replied. With the Epstein files about to be released by Congress since the passage of the Epstein Transparency Act, we are surprised that the Metropolitan Police didn't wait to see what further evidence might appear," their statement said.

"While we have hailed the UK's overall handling of the case of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor previously, today we feel justice has not been served.

"We continue to challenge the system that protects abusers, especially as more evidence comes to light that can hold people accountable.

"Our sister, Virginia, and all survivors, are owed this much."

Andrew was stripped of his prince title and HRH style last month over the ongoing controversy of his association with Epstein, who was found dead in his prison cell after taking his own life while facing allegations of sexually abusing underage girls.

The former duke paid to settle a civil sexual assault case with Ms Giuffre in 2022, despite insisting he had never met her.

Two US service members and one civilian died and three other people were injured in an ambush on Saturday by a lone IS - also often called ISIS in Syria and Iraq - gunman, according to the he US military's Central Command.

The attack on US troops in Syria is the first to inflict fatalities since the fall of President Bashar Assad a year ago.

"This is an ISIS attack," the US president told reporters at the White House before leaving for the Army-Navy football game in Baltimore.

He paid condolences to the three people killed and said the three others who were wounded "seem to be doing pretty well".

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said "there will be very serious retaliation".

The shooting took place near historic Palmyra, according to the state-run SANA news agency, and the casualties were taken by helicopter to the al Tanf garrison near the border with Iraq and Jordan.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attacker was a member of the Syrian security force.

Syria's Interior Ministry spokesman Nour al Din al Baba said authorities are looking into whether the gunman was an IS member or only carried its extreme ideology, and denied reports suggesting he was a security member.

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Central Command earlier said in a post on X that the gunman was killed, while the identities of the service members killed wouldn't be released until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified.

Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said the civilian killed in the attack was a US interpreter.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X: "Let it be known, if you target Americans - anywhere in the world - you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you."

The US has hundreds of troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting IS.

The group was defeated on the battlefield in Syria in 2019 but the UN says the group still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq, and its sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks.

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al Sharaa, made a historic visit to Washington DC last month as Syria signed a political cooperation agreement with the US-led coalition against IS.

"This was an ISIS attack against the US, and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them," Mr Trump said in his social media post, adding that Mr al Sharaa was "extremely angry and disturbed".

Raed Saed was targeted in response to an attack by Hamas in which an explosive device injured two soldiers on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement.

It is the highest-profile killing of a senior Hamas figure since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect in October.

Gaza health authorities said the attack on a car in Gaza City killed five people and wounded at least 25 others, but there has been no confirmation from Hamas or medics that Saed was among the dead.

Hamas condemned the attack in a statement as a violation of the ceasefire agreement but stopped short of threatening retaliation.

An Israeli military official described Saed as a high-ranked Hamas member who helped establish and advance the group's weapons production network.

"In recent months, he operated to re-establish Hamas' capabilities and weapons manufacturing, a blatant violation of the ceasefire," the official said.

The 10 October ceasefire has enabled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to Gaza City's ruins after a war that began after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and seized 251 hostages in an attack on southern Israel.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 70,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health officials in Gaza.

Israel has pulled troops back from city positions, and aid flows have increased, but violence has not completely stopped.

Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed at least 386 people in strikes in Gaza since the truce, while Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed.

In a televised message on Friday, Charles said his treatment can be reduced in the new year thanks to an "early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to doctors' orders".

The monarch, who announced he had been diagnosed with cancer in February 2024, also urged people to take up available screenings for the disease.

Cancer Research UK said tens of thousands of people visited its Screening Checker website, which was launched on 5 December, after the King's message.

NHS England also said its cancer-related pages saw a substantial spike in activity, with almost 4,000 views in a 24-hour period, compared to almost 8,000 over the full week.

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said on Saturday it has been "delighted by the scale and sensitivity of the worldwide media reaction", and is "most grateful for the many kind comments we have received for the King, both from those working in cancer care and from the general public".

"I know His Majesty will be greatly encouraged and deeply touched by the very positive reaction his message has generated," the spokesperson said.

"He will be particularly pleased at the way it has helped to shine a light on the benefits of cancer screening programmes.

"It has long been the King's view that if some public good can come from sharing elements of his personal diagnosis and treatment journey, then it would be his pleasure and duty to do so.

"His thoughts and warmest wishes will remain with all those affected by cancer and those who care for them."

Delivering his message in support of the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, the King said that early diagnosis had enabled him to "continue leading a full and active life, even while undergoing treatment".

Cancer Research UK said about 100,000 people had visited its new Screening Checker since it was launched, with the majority taking place after the King's update.

The tool allows visitors to quickly check the different types of cancer screenings available with the NHS, and Public Health Agency (PHA) in Northern Ireland, and helps them find out which ones apply to them.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive at the charity, said on Saturday: "This response shows just how important open conversations about cancer can be.

"Knowing which screening you're eligible for, and what happens next, isn't always straightforward, which is why we've launched this simple new Screening Checker.

"Taking just a few minutes to check what screening you're eligible for could be an important step towards protecting your health and could ultimately save lives."