More than 3,000 migrants arrived in the United Kingdom on small boats during the first 22 days of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's time in office, according to official figures. This surge has led to the total number of arrivals under the Labour government, since the day after the July 2024 general election, exceeding 80,000.
On a single Monday, 230 people arrived on a record-breaking "mega-dinghy," bringing the total under Burnham to 3,003. This compares to 2,628 arrivals during the first 22 days of Sir Keir Starmer's premiership. However, migrant arrivals are known to fluctuate significantly with weather and tide conditions.
Opposition parties have characterized the situation as a "full-blown borders crisis." Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp stated that "unvetted illegal immigrants – mainly young males – flood across the Channel every day there are calm seas." He further claimed that many of these individuals go on to commit serious criminal offenses and that the cost to taxpayers is in the billions. Philp asserted that Burnham's claims of a working plan are "in tatters" and urged the Prime Minister to adopt the Conservative party's proposal to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and deport illegal immigrants within a week.
The record-breaking dinghy, described as capable of carrying more than a Boeing 737 jet, arrived less than two weeks after Prime Minister Burnham insisted the government's plan was effective. The vessel, designed for a maximum of 40 people, was overloaded with more than 260 passengers when it encountered choppy waters, causing approximately 30 individuals to fall into the English Channel. These individuals were subsequently rescued by French police and gendarmes.
French lifeboat services reported that the 15-meter (49ft) inflatable boat was crammed with men, women, and children who had paid people smugglers for passage. The director of the SNSM's Berck-sur-Mer branch noted an increasing trend of larger boats being used by smuggling gangs, with "no limit" to the number of people they are willing to cram aboard. The previous record for a single vessel was 165 migrants on July 23. Another recent incident involved a dinghy with 173 occupants that caught fire, resulting in their return to France.
Officials acknowledged that traffickers are adapting their methods to circumvent Labour's strategies. The government scrapped the previous Conservative administration's Rwanda asylum deal and is instead focusing on enhanced police and law enforcement efforts. However, the use of "mega-dinghies" has been cited as an example of smugglers experimenting with new tactics, potentially increasing the risk of a mass tragedy. Organized crime rings are also reportedly launching dinghies from a wider area of the French and Belgian coast to evade detection.
In April, the UK signed a three-year security agreement with France, committing £662 million from British taxpayers to enhance border security. However, critics have pointed to instances where French authorities appeared to do little to prevent migrants from boarding boats. Immigration expert David Goodhart commented that the large boat crossing highlights "the ineffectiveness of French controls, and our own Government's impotence." He suggested that the solution lies in ensuring no one who enters illegally is allowed to stay and that France should agree to accept back individuals who cross illegally.
The Home Office stated that progress is being made, with the number of small boat crossings down this year and the lowest July figures recorded since 2020. The department also noted a payment-by-results deal with France aimed at increasing patrols on French beaches. The statement also mentioned that during the recent boarding incident, French gendarmes and firefighters intervened to rescue individuals cut off by the rising tide, averting a potential tragedy.
People smugglers are believed to charge approximately £2,000 per person for passage. The overloaded dinghy in the recent incident may have generated a profit of around £450,000 for the traffickers. In the current year, at least 15 migrants have died in the Channel due to drowning or suffocation in overcrowded boats. The deadliest incident occurred in November 2021, when 27 migrants died after their dinghy capsized.