# Were 60,000 migrants intentionally let into Spain?

An episode of [The Story](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1501716010), 4 Aug 2026, 31 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/storiesofourtimes/e/6a70c52762888a8235b0794d/media.mp3

The largest single illegal border crossing in the history of the European Union took place last week as 60,000 migrants arrived in the Spanish city of Ceuta on the north coast of Africa. But why did they all come at once? Was a Spanish legal change to blame, or foreign actors annoyed at Spain’s lenient migration policy? And how did it reignite questions about migration in the UK? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guests: • Katie Gatens, Europe correspondent, The Sunday Times. • Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History at Oxford University. Host: Manveen Rana. Producers: Olivia Case and Jennifer Kennedy. We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com Read more: Reform pledges to send in the navy to stop small boat crossings Further listening: Europe on fire Clips: Al Jazeera, GB News, CSPAN, 9 News Australia, The Mirror, Reform UK, El Debate, The New York Post. Photo: Getty Images. This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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