Labour is accused of presiding over a whopping 64% increase in Channel migrant crossings since they came to power 150 days ago_Nhy
The Shadow Home Secretary has accused Labour of presiding over a 64 per cent increase in Channel crossings since they came to power.
Chris Philp launched a savage attack on the Government’s record on small boats, after it was confirmed more than 20,000 migrants have reached Britain since the general election.
In the Commons, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper criticised the Conservatives now-scrapped Rwanda asylum scheme as a ‘con’ and a ‘total failure’.
But Mr Philp blasted Labour’s record, noting that 20,110 migrants have reached the UK in the 150 days since the election compared with 12,239 in the previous 150 days.
Describing the increase as ‘staggering’ Mr Philp said: ‘Behind all the bluster and all the chat about previous governments, we see her record and her Government’s record.
‘A 64 per cent increase in small boat crossings since the same period before the election, 6,000 extra people in hotels, the asylum backlog up by 11,000 – all since July 4.’
He repeated his call on Labour to reinstate the Rwanda programme.
Ms Cooper told the Commons: ‘I remind the shadow secretary to the first half of this year, so the last six months of his government, crossings hit a record high for that season.
On Monday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper criticised the Conservatives now-scrapped Rwanda asylum scheme as a ‘con’ and a ‘total failure’
Migrants being escorted by Border Force officials into the Port of Dover on November 16
An inflatable dinghy carrying around 65 migrants crosses the English Channel on March 6th
‘If that trend had carried on we would have had thousands more crossings that we would have been dealing with.’
The spat came after Home Office figures showed 122 migrants made the perilous journey across the Channel on Sunday.
Since the election, small boat arrivals are 14.6 per cent higher than during the same period in 2023.
This year has already seen the second-highest annual number of small boat migrants reach Britain, with 33,684.
Tragically, at least 65 migrants have died this year in the Channel so far – the deadliest year on record.
The Home Office also revealed a breakdown of expenditure on the abandoned Rwanda scheme for the first time yesterday.
In all, £715million was spent on the previous government’s policy including £50million on preparing an airfield in the UK for deportation flights – but which was never used.
It is thought to refer to the Ministry of Defence base Boscombe Down, near Salisbury, Wilts, which was the location for an aborted inaugural Rwanda removals flight in June 2022.
A group of people are pictured on a small boat near Dunkirk, northern France, in an apparent attempt to cross the Channel to Britain on April 26
The PM’s spokesperson said that Sir Keir ‘doesn’t believe in setting arbitrary caps’ on migration
The £50million also went on ‘police force costs to secure the airfield’, ‘secure flights’ and ‘the costs of escorts’ to and from the airport.
Yesterday’s Home Office figures also showed £280million was spent on staff, legal and IT costs; plus £95million on detention and reception centres.
The remaining figure of £290million was paid to the government of Rwanda and had been previously published.
Downing Street insisted that migration levels will be ‘reflected’ in Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘Plan for Change’, due later this week.
But a target will not be set for reducing numbers even though official data last week showed UK net migration was 2.2million over the last three years, including a record 906,000 in the 12 months to June 2023.
It also emerged the asylum system cost the British taxpayer £5.38billion in 2023-24 – almost £15million every day.
There were 35,361 migrants – the majority of whom arrived by small boat – in hotels at the end of September, up 21 per cent on the end of June.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said yesterday that Sir Keir ‘doesn’t believe in setting arbitrary caps in the way that previous governments have done’.
He added: ‘I’m not going to set targets here, but the Prime Minister has committed to significantly reducing net migration.
‘We will look at all options on the table to bring these figures down.’
