Britain has lost control of its borders and is fuelling a loss of trust in politics, the home secretary will warn on Wednesday.
Shabana Mahmood is to issue the warning as she hosts her counterparts from across the Western Balkans, as well as other European allies, in London.
In one of the most stark assessments of the impact of small boat crossings on public trust in government, Ms Mahmood is to say it risks undermining “the credibility of the state itself”.
She will insist that Britain can only stem the flow of migrants arriving on small boats through international cooperation.
The summit is aimed at ensuring European nations strike new deals to tackle illegal migration.
At the gathering, the home secretary will say: “The public rightly expect that their government will be able to determine who enters their country, and who must leave.
“Today, in this country, and I know in many if not all of yours, that is not the case.
“And the failure to bring order to our borders is eroding trust not just in us as political leaders … but in the credibility of the state itself.”
She is also expected to hit out at the government’s political opponents, such as Reform UK’s Nigel Farage, accusing them of wanting to “turn inwards” and seek solutions to migration without the aid of other countries.
“Illegal migration is a shared threat which requires a strong, joined-up international response,” Ms Mahmood will say.
She will add: “To those who think the answer to the challenges that we face is to turn inwards, or back away from international cooperation, I say that in coming together as we are today, we will make all of our borders and our countries stronger.
“I am proud that the UK is leading the charge on a coordinated response to tackle organised crime and take down the vile people-smuggling gangs who put the value of human lives behind their own profits.”
The Western Balkans, which includes the countries of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, has become increasingly important to tackling illegal migration across Europe.
According to the Home Office, the region is becoming a major transit route for people smugglers, as well as those trafficking drugs across borders.
Some 22,000 people were smuggled by gangs along routes through the Western Balkans in 2024, the government department said.
The summit is expected to include a discussion on how to crack down on the gangs, including through more cooperation between Britain, Europe, and border police forces in the region.
Director general of the National Crime Agency, Graeme Biggar, will join the gathering in the afternoon to discuss work on disrupting gangs’ supply chains, while a session on combating violence against women and girls is also due to be held.
The Conservatives said Ms Mahmood’s warning was “rich coming from a government that has lost control of our borders”.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, added: “The first nine months of this year have been the worst in history for illegal immigrants crossing the channel.
“The government is accommodating more illegal immigrants in hotels than at the election, and have only returned a paltry 26 to France – over a time period when 14,000 have arrived.
“This is clearly no deterrent. The Conservatives would leave the ECHR, which will enable us to remove all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival. Then the crossings would soon stop.”
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