More than 50,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since Labour came to power, despite Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to “smash the gangs” behind them.
It is the quickest timeframe in which the milestone has been met under a prime minister – 403 days – and education minister Baroness Jacqui Smith admitted earlier on Tuesday that the number of people making the dangerous crossing was “unacceptable”.
The latest figures come as a woman died while trying to board a boat attempting to make the crossing to the UK from Dunkirk, France.
The Mayor of Dunkirk, Patrice Vergriete, said that the situation "can't stand much longer" as he shared that "a 30-year-old woman lost her life trying to join England on an overloaded boat".
He called for the creation of a "legal immigration route to the UK" saying "our coastline is a daily witness to an absurd, ineffective and terribly cruel management of the migration crisis".
Labour has so far been unable to get a grip on the crisis, despite ramping up its efforts to bring down migration, with a new “one in, one out” returns deal with France beginning last Friday, amid growing public anger over the issue.
As figures published on Tuesday showed the number of migrants arriving on small boats under Labour has now reached 50,271, charities have called on the government to expand safe and legal routes to the UK so people don’t resort to making the perilous crossing out of desperation.
Baroness Smith of Malvern blamed the previous Tory government, despite the number being reached in 603 days under former prime minister Rishi Sunak.
She said stopping the crossings was “a very big challenge” and admitted it was “a problem that, up to this point, we haven’t managed to tackle”.
She said: “It sort of demonstrates the way over the last six or seven years that the criminal gangs have got an absolute foothold in the tragic trafficking of people across the Channel”.
She continued: “I think it’s tough because the last government enabled this hideous criminal activity to really get its roots into Europe”.
The figures come after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch suggested that migrants housed in hotels should instead be put in “camps”. Referring to concerns about a hotel in Epping, Essex, which sparked violent protests, she said: “Is it possible for us to set up camps and police that, rather than bringing all of this hassle into communities?”
And Epping Forest District Council on Tuesday applied for a High Court injunction to stop asylum seekers being housed in a hotel in the town following a series of protests at the site.
Ms Badenoch reacted to the 50,000 milestone, saying that Labour “have no plans” to tackle the crisis. Asked if the Conservatives could reduce the number of crossings from five figures to zero, Ms Badenoch replied: “I think that we can.” She added that “it wouldn’t happen straight away, but it would happen quickly” and claimed that people would not come to the UK if they thought they would be sent to Rwanda, under the Tories’ failed scheme to deport asylum seekers.
Sir Keir’s latest bid to deter migrants crossing in small boats will see them detained when they arrive in the UK, with some due to be deported to France within weeks. In exchange, people will be able to apply to come to the UK from France, with those with family links expected to be prioritised. It started last week, but none have yet been returned.
Amid growing political pressure on the issue of migration, the government has made a number of announcements on illegal migration. These include announcing an extra £100m to boost the work of the National Crime Agency (NCA) and funding for interventions in transit countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The Home Office has also pledged to deport more foreign criminals before their appeals can be heard.
Dr Mihnea Cuibus, researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said that small boat arrivals have been on an upward trend since last autumn. Around 46,000 people arrived by small boat over the last 12 months, which is approaching record levels last seen in 2022, he explained.
“If current trends continue, it’s likely that we will see a record number of arrivals during 2025,” said Dr Cuibus, citing how smuggling gangs had become “increasingly professionalised and efficient, which has allowed them to scale up operations and increase the availability of crossings”.
But he warned that bringing people more people to justice through “smashing the gangs” might not necessarily disrupt the overall market. “Smuggling gangs are highly adaptable and decentralised, meaning that smugglers who are captured can be relatively easily replaced by others”.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “People do not cross the Channel unless what lies behind them is more terrifying than what lies ahead. We know from our frontline services that the adults and children risking their lives in small boats are often fleeing places like Sudan, where war has left them with nowhere else to turn.
“To stop smugglers for good, the government must expand safe and legal routes, such as allowing family members to travel to be with their loved ones who are already settled in the UK and continue to work more closely with our European neighbours to share responsibility for those seeking asylum.”
