A furious row has erupted over migrant numbers (Image: Getty)
Channel migrant crossings have “skyrocketed” since the General Election, Keir Starmer has been warned.
The have accused Labour of insulting “the British people” after the number of arrivals increased by 29%, compared to last year.
The said 23,242 people arrived on small boats between July 5 and December 31.
This is compared to 18,004 over the same period last year.
Cumulative arrivals of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. See story POLITICS Migr (Image: Press Association Images)
A view of small boats and outboard motors used by migrants to cross the Channel (Image: PA)
Home Office sources insist they are making progress on preventing Channel migrant crossings, pointing to the number of so-called “red days”, when it is particularly calm with easier weather conditions for the smugglers to exploit.
Insiders said there were a record 88 red days in the second half of this year – but there were 10,000 fewer arrivals than over the same period in 2022.
This, they claim, shows they are beginning to disrupt the gangs and their smuggling routes as they were less able to exploit better conditions.
But Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp blamed the rise on the scrapping of the Rwanda deportation scheme.
Mr Philp said: “These figures make clear Labour has totally failed on illegal immigration by small boat.
“Numbers have sky-rocketed since the General Election. Over three times more illegal immigrants crossed in December this year compared to last year – an insult to the British people. Labour has lost control of our borders.
“The National Crime Agency warned that a removals deterrent was needed, and the law-enforcement alone would not be enough.
“This means Labour made a catastrophic mistake by cancelling the Rwanda removals deterrent before it even started.
“The first Rwanda plane was due to take off on July 24, and had Labour allowed the scheme to start, crossings would by now have dropped a lot – as they did when Australia did the same thing.
“Labour’s claim to smash the gangs is nothing new. That was happening already, and Labour voted against measures to increase prison sentences for these very same gangs when they were in an opposition.
“I call the government to urgently implement a removal deterrent. This worked in Australia around 10 years ago. It is common sense – if someone who enters this country illegally is rapidly removed to a safe third country like Rwanda, it’s obvious they won’t even bother trying to cross the Channel in the first place.”
At least 76 people are feared to have lost their lives this year, the deadliest on record for Channel crossings.
Labour ditched the Rwanda deportation scheme within hours of coming into office.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is prioritising hunting the smuggling gangs – particularly the Kurdish organised crime networks that control many of the crossing routes – to end the crisis.
The Home Secretary also believes greater cooperation with European nations will allow police to disrupt the smugglers’ supply chains and seize more boats and engines.
Counter-terrorism powers will be extended to cover organised immigration crime, giving officers the right to search people suspected of being involved in people smuggling, close bank accounts, restrict their travel and trace their movements before an offence has taken place.
Sources have told the Daily Express that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s team is hoping MI5 spies will treat people smugglers like foreign spies and terrorists.
The Express understands that this could see them bug smugglers’ phones and trace their movements.
A Home Office source said: “The Tory government failed to take our border security seriously.
“They let criminal gangs take hold all along our borders and, on their watch, small boat crossings grew from just a few hundred in 2018 to tens of thousands by the time they left office.
“They spent an eye-watering £700m to send just four volunteers to Rwanda – the failed scheme was more of a distraction than a deterrent.
“Labour is fixing our border security, with a new Border Security Command backed up by an additional £150 million and a hundred new specialist investigators to go after the evil smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings.”
A Labour source added: “This time last year, Chris Philp’s predecessor claimed victory over the small boat gangs after a quiet end to 2023, and then went on to preside over the worst start to a year ever for Channel crossings.
“His predecessor said last Christmas that the weather was not a contributory factor in the level of small boat arrivals, and now Chris Philp is making exactly the same mistake.
“This is typical of Kemi Badenoch’s – they have learned nothing from their 14 years of failure on immigration, and here they are now, trotting out all the same old policies, and making all the same old mistakes.”