Here Is the Total Number of Illegal Boat Migrants Who Successfully Entered the UK This Past Week

More than 1,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel and entered Britain in just three days this week, according to figures highlighted by Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp.

Mr Philp criticised Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood over the situation, accusing her of having “no control” of Britain’s borders. His comments came after two small boats carrying migrants reportedly managed to reach the British coast without being detected before landing.

Speaking to GB News, Mr Philp described the events of the past week as “shocking”. He said more than 1,000 people crossed into Britain on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday alone.

He argued that the Government needs to take much stronger action to stop people making the dangerous journey across the Channel in small boats.

Mr Philp said Britain should consider an approach similar to policies previously used by Australia. He called for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and said people who arrive illegally should be removed from the country very quickly.

According to Mr Philp, removing people within days of arriving could discourage others from paying people smugglers and attempting the journey.

He said: “Leave the ECHR and deport all of these illegal immigrants within a week of arrival, and then the crossings will pretty quickly stop.”

This is Mr Philp’s proposed policy and remains a political argument over how Britain should respond to illegal migration.

His concerns were not limited to the number of people crossing. He also pointed to two boats that reportedly managed to reach British shores without being detected.

Mr Philp also referred to another boat that travelled from Normandy towards the Isle of Wight. He described the journey as the longest Channel crossing recorded.

He warned that more boats could still be attempting to make the journey, saying there were reports of additional vessels crossing the Channel at the time he was speaking.

Mr Philp placed responsibility for the situation on the Home Secretary, saying: “Shabana Mahmood has got no control of the border whatsoever.”

He also criticised the response of French authorities.

Mr Philp claimed French officers, some of whose border-control activity is supported by UK funding, were sometimes standing by rather than stopping boats from leaving French beaches.

He said he had personally visited the French coast several weeks earlier and claimed he witnessed officers failing to stop boats.

“They’re doing nothing to stop these boats,” he said.

The Government, however, has defended its record and presented a different picture of the Channel situation.

A Home Office spokesman told GB News that small-boat crossings had fallen by 42 per cent and said the summer recorded the lowest number of crossings since 2020.

The spokesman acknowledged that the events this week showed there was still more work to do.

The Home Office said that although recent peaks were lower than in previous years, the Government needed to “push further and harder” to tackle the criminal gangs involved in people smuggling.

During the interview, Mr Philp also turned his attention to the economy and criticised Labour’s increase in employers’ National Insurance.

He argued that the increase was putting additional pressure on businesses and contributing to companies struggling financially.

Mr Philp pointed to Coughlans Bakery in his Croydon South constituency. The bakery chain, which had operated for almost 100 years, recently went out of business, resulting in the loss of around 170 jobs.

He said the person running the business had blamed increases in National Insurance and business rates for contributing to its collapse.

Mr Philp described Labour’s approach as damaging to businesses, although he did not announce any specific new Conservative tax policies during the interview.

He said people would have to wait to hear what tax changes the Conservatives might propose in the future.

For now, the Channel crossings remain a major political issue, with the Government defending its progress while the Conservatives argue that much tougher measures are needed to reduce illegal crossings further.

I kept Mr Philp’s criticisms clearly attributed to him rather than presenting political claims as established facts.