Starmer signals he has duty to stop Channel crossings following record weekend

Sir Keir Starmer has signalled it is his duty to ensure no one is crossing the English Channel in small boats after more than a thousand migrants made the journey in a single day for the first time this year.

Some 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats on Saturday, according to Home Office data.

It was the first time daily crossings topped a thousand in 2025, and prompted Defence Secretary John Healey to claim Britain had “lost control” of its borders over the last five years.

As he made a major defence speech in Glasgow on Monday, the Prime Minister was asked if the Government was failing to keep the UK safe in the English Channel.

He told journalists: “In relation to border security, I want to be really clear: nobody should be making that journey across the Channel and it’s our duty to make sure that we ensure that they don’t.

“We are working very closely with our counterparts in France and elsewhere to take further action in northern France, and of course, we are giving enhanced powers to our own law enforcement through the Borders Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.”

Speaking about the previous Government’s Rwanda plan, Sir Keir insisted it “didn’t deter anybody”, after his decision to scrap it was highlighted.

He added: “I’m not up for gimmicks. I’m up for the hard work of working with partners, enhancing the powers that law enforcement have, in my determination to take down the gangs that are running this vile trade.”

Saturday’s crossings brought the provisional annual total so far of migrants who have made the journey to 14,811.

This is 42% higher than the same point last year (10,448) and 95% up from the same point in 2023 (7,610), according to PA news agency analysis of the data.

It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since data began in 2018, which was recorded on September 3 2022.

On Sunday, Mr Healey said the scenes of migrants being picked up by smugglers “like a taxi” to be brought to the UK were “shocking”.

Britain has “lost control of its borders over the last five years,” he added.

The Defence Secretary said it is a “really big problem” that French police are unable to intervene to intercept boats in shallow waters.

French police officers were seen watching as migrants, including children, boarded at a beach in Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk, and authorities were then pictured escorting the boats.

Some 184 people were rescued, the French authorities said.

The UK agreed a £480 million deal with France to beef up its efforts to stop migrants in 2023 under former prime minister Rishi Sunak.

It was the latest in a series of agreements with France since 2014 aimed at cracking down on crossings.

This year is on course to set a record for Channel crossings, with the 14,811 total arrivals so far the highest recorded for the first five months of a year.

It has also surpassed the highest total recorded for the first six months of the year, which was previously 13,489 on June 30 last year.

In 2024, the number of arrivals did not reach more than 14,000 until July 9 (14,058).

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has pledged to “smash the gangs” behind people-smuggling operations to bring down crossings.