More than 11,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year (Image: Getty)
Labour’s Channel migrant plan was branded a “sick joke” after 11,000 small boat arrivals were confirmed just days after the total surged past 10,000. Some 294 people made the journey in five boats on Wednesday, bringing the total this year to 11,074.
This comes after the total rocketed past 10,000 on Monday, when 473 people arrived. Some 1,436 migrants have arrived since April 27 on 26 boats.
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Dozens of migrants arriving in Dover (Image: PA)
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Keir Starmer has absolutely no control over who is coming into this country – the people crossing the Channel are mainly young men, some of whom are criminals and extremists.
“？Labour’s ？claim that they are ‘smashing the gangs’ is a sick joke – everyone can see they have absolutely no plan to stop these crossings.
“The only way to stop this madness is to promptly remove those arriving to a location outside Europe, like Rwanda. But Labour cancelled the Rwanda deterrent before it had even started.
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？“Keir Starmer is too weak and does not have the will to fix this. The Labour Government has surrendered our borders to the people smugglers.”
It is the earliest point in the calendar year the 11,000 milestone has been reached.
Last year, the figure of 10,000 was not reached until May 24, while in 2023 it was June 17.
For 11,000, that number of arrivals was not reached until June 6 last year, and it was June 23 in 2023.
The current total for 2025 - 11,074 - is up 46% on the number recorded at this point last year (7,567) and 86% higher than the same point in 2023 (5,946).
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has blamed the record number of Channel crossings so far this year on the weather.
Smuggling gangs have been "taking advantage of the much higher number of calm weather days", Ms Cooper said.
Asked whether she thought she was doing a good job of stopping crossings, Ms Cooper told Times Radio: "The boats are high and this is undermining border security, it's putting lives at risk.
“It's why it's so essential to take action on the criminal gangs that are underpinning this vile trade in people. They have been taking advantage of the much higher number of calm weather days," she said.
Ms Cooper later said the situation "cannot continue" where "the impact on our border security of the weather is so significant".
The Home Secretary insisted France will begin intercepting small boats already in the water later this year.
Ms Cooper added: "We've now persuaded the French government to change their rules, to change their laws effectively, so that the French police can intervene with those boats and prevent people getting on them."
The Daily Express on Wednesday revealed how a British Border Force vessel was left to rescue asylum seekers from French waters.
The migrant dinghy, carrying dozens of people, broke down “half a mile to a mile” inside French waters on Tuesday, a witness claimed.
But the French warship shadowing the dinghy did not intervene, despite fears some of the asylum seekers were signalling that they were in distress.
Under an agreement between Britain and France, French rescue vessels are supposed to take migrants in distress back to the shore.
But Border Force Ranger “moved into French waters” and rescued the asylum seekers, before then continuing further to collect more migrants attempting the crossing on Tuesday morning.
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A witness condemned the farce, declaring: “We have given them ￡490million to stop more boats and they seem to be as happy as ever. They seem to be very good business partners.
“The UK Border Force vessel moved into French waters as the dinghy had slowed up - I think the tubes were deflating.
“They were getting slower and slower and they came to a stop half a mile to a mile from the border.
“Some of those on board signalled they were in distress.
“If they were signalling that they were in distress, the French should have picked them up.
“They have broken their protocols.
“Once they picked up those people, they hung around and another French vessel stated they had another migrant boat and they motored further into French waters.
“It’s encouraging enough for the migrants when they can see the Border Force vessels waiting. Now they are getting into trouble and know they are still going to get picked up.
“If there are people in the water, absolutely, everyone should respond, but its primarily for the French to be looking after them when they are in their waters.”
An audio clip – heard by the Daily Express - revealed the French warship asking Border Force Ranger: “What are your intentions with the dinghy?”
A member of Border Force on BF Ranger then responded: “I am going to export that with the UK Coastguard.”
The French vessel responds: “Thank you for your co-operation.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
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“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.
“That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.
“Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security and Asylum Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders."
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