More than 700 migrants attempt crossing after PM says plan is 'working

Burnham's Channel crossings claim tested as hundreds more migrants head for Britain

Hundreds of wannabe migrants attempted to cross the English Channel just hours after Prime Minister Andy Burnham declared the Government's strategy to tackle small boat crossings was delivering results.

More than 700 migrants are believed to have set off from northern France on what could become one of the busiest crossing days of the year, with several overcrowded inflatable boats launched from multiple points along the French and Belgian coastline.

The surge came less than a day after Burnham insisted illegal crossings were falling and argued that Labour's approach was beginning to have an impact.

Tory frontbencher accuses French police of standing aside

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp spent the day observing departures from beaches near Boulogne, where he said French officers failed to stop migrants boarding boats despite the UK-French agreement designed to curb crossings.

Philp claimed one French gendarme told him officers had been instructed not to physically intervene.

According to Philp, the officer said their role was limited to warning migrants that the journey was dangerous rather than preventing them from entering the water.

At Hardelot-Plage, Philp waded into the surf to confront migrants preparing to board an overloaded dinghy and challenged a man he believed was organising the crossing, accusing him of facilitating illegal entry into Britain.

Questions over £662 million UK-France deal

The Conservative MP said what he witnessed exposed the shortcomings of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's £662 million three-year agreement with France, signed in April to strengthen beach patrols and disrupt people-smuggling operations.

When the deal was announced, ministers said the enhanced cooperation would significantly reduce Channel crossings through tougher enforcement and increased policing.

Instead, Philp said French officers watched as more than 100 migrants gathered in shallow water before boarding a single inflatable bound for the UK.

He also claimed traffickers appeared to be using a new tactic by launching several boats simultaneously from different beaches stretching from Gravelines near Dunkirk to Dieppe further south, making interception more difficult.

Burnham defends Government strategy

Speaking on Tuesday, Burnham rejected suggestions that the Government's approach was failing.

"The numbers can fluctuate," he said, "but overall, boat crossings are down quite significantly year on year. That does suggest the plan is working."

Official figures support a sharp decline compared with the same period last year.

Before yesterday's crossings, 13,376 migrants had arrived in Britain by small boat in 2026, around 45 percent lower than at the same stage in 2025. The busiest day this year had previously been 710 arrivals on June 15.

By last night, unofficial estimates suggested around 570 migrants had already reached Dover, while several more dinghies were still making the crossing, meaning the final daily total could exceed 700 once confirmed.

Political pressure grows

Philp accused Burnham of being detached from events unfolding on the French coast.

"Shabana Mahmood has paid half a billion pounds of taxpayers' money unconditionally, yet I saw French officers doing nothing," he said.

"Andy Burnham says there is no problem. I saw with my own eyes today just how out of touch he is."

Labour abandoned the previous Conservative government's Rwanda deportation scheme shortly after taking office, replacing it with a strategy focused on dismantling criminal smuggling networks rather than deterring migrants through offshore removals.

Although crossings remain significantly below last year's pace, the latest surge is likely to intensify scrutiny of Burnham's claim that the Government's plan is succeeding.

Since the small boats crisis began in 2018, almost 206,000 migrants have reached Britain by crossing the English Channel in small vessels, making illegal migration one of the first major domestic tests confronting Burnham's new administration.

SOURCE