Smuggler boats pick up Channel migrants ‘like taxi service’ while French police stand by, minister fumes
Labour’s John Healey hits out after small boats leave beaches near Calais and authorities in France fail to intervene – as he says ‘Britain’s lost control of its borders’
The defence secretary has hit out at “shocking” scenes of migrants being picked up by people smugglers “like a taxi” to be brought to the UK on dangerous small boats while French police stand by.
A furious row has erupted over the lack of action after more than 1,000 people crossed the channel in a single day on Saturday.
French police officers were seen watching as migrants, including children, boarded at a beach in Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk, while authorities were then pictured escorting the boats.
John Healey said it was a “big problem” that French police had not intervened to intercept the boats in shallow waters despite an agreement to do so. The authorities in France have to “stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore”, he added.
Mr Healey told the Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme on Sky News that Saturday’s scenes were “pretty shocking”.
He added: “[The] truth is, Britain’s lost control of its borders over the last five years, and the last government, last year, left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration.”
He said it is a “really big problem” that French police are unable to intervene to intercept boats in shallow waters.
“We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming around like a taxi to pick [the migrants] up,” he said.
Ministers are pressing the French government to put new rules into operation that would allow them to intervene, he added. “They’re not doing it, but for the first time for years, we’ve got the level of cooperation needed,” he said. “We’ve got the agreement that they will change the way they work, and our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore.”
A total of 1,194 people made the journey in 18 boats on Saturday, bringing the provisional total for this year so far to 14,811 – 42 per cent higher than at the same point last year, and 95 per cent up on the 7,610 who had crossed by this point in 2023.
It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since records began in 2018, which was recorded on 3 September 2022.
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to crack down on crossings, including with measures that target smuggling gangs.
A Home Office source said: “We have developed strong cooperation with the French, and it is important that they have agreed to disrupt these boats once they’re in the water – and not just on the shore.
“This vital step now needs to be operationalised to protect border security and save lives.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said that Saturday was a “day of shame for Labour” as he claimed the party had “completely lost control of our borders”.
“So far, this is already the worst year on record. Labour have failed on every front, and Britain is paying the price,” he added.