The UK’s former chief immigration officer has said he believes the number of migrants crossing the Channel illegally will go up over the next few weeks.
Kevin Saunders said migrants were "pleased" at Keir Starmer’s victory as they feel he will make it "much easier" for them to settle in the UK.
In exclusive footage obtained by GB News, French border force were seen watching on as another dinghy filled with migrants left the shores of Gravelines, headed across the Channel to the UK.
French police were also seen filming the migrants taking off as they head to UK shores, making the precarious journey across the Channel.
Former border chief Kevin Saunders warned that migrant numbers will go up in the 'next few weeks'
GB News
Speaking to GB News about recent migrant crossings, Saunders said: "If you go back to Tuesday, 419 migrants got across and the French managed to intercept another 126.
"Over 500 tried to do it and the French were able to stop three of the boats coming across. So a little bit of a result, but not a very big one, because 400 plus got over."
Warning Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the potential surge this summer, Saunders claimed there will be a rise in numbers "in the next few weeks" as the new government settles in.
Saunders told host Martin Daubney: "The numbers are going to go up, and with the weather due to get better this week, we will see an awful lot more coming across the channel.
Footage obtained by GB News shows French border police watching migrants crossing the Channel
GB News
"Migrants are there. They're waiting to come across. It is a ruthless, absolutely ruthless organisation that's going on there."
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When asked for his thoughts on the migrant footage obtained by GB News from Gravelines in France, Saunders admitted it "doesn't look as though the French were doing too much at all to try and stop that boat".
Saunders explained: "It's basically the survival of the fittest, so women and children aren't going to have much chance getting on there.
"Perhaps in some way, that's not a bad thing; at least they'll be safe in France, rather than coming across the channel. And coming across from Gravelines is a very, very dangerous crossing.
"You can see how strong the currents actually are, so that's a really dangerous crossing."
Kevin Saunders says Gravelines in France is a 'very dangerous crossing' for migrants
GB News
Discussing Labour's approach to tackling the migrants and their new Border Security Command, Saunders revealed that migrants have dubbed Starmer the "friendly one", and they believe it is now "easier to make the crossing" into Britain.
Saunders told GB News: "The migrants are very pleased, particularly the Kurds, that they're calling Starmer ‘the friendly one’, because they believe that it's going to be much, much easier now for them to come across and settle in the UK.
"It's going to be awful the next few weeks. If the weather stays fine, you're going to see a lot of people come across.There are going to be a lot more deaths. That boat is massively overloaded, and you can see that the sea is not a particularly calm sea.
"It's so ruthless, what is going on in the channel. These young men are virtually elbowing other people out of the way to get on the boats."
