Sir Keir Starmer's small boats record is worse than any other Prime Minister since the Channel crossings first rocked Britain in 2018, damning new data has revealed.
Despite the Prime Minister's tough talk yesterday, a staggering 29,884 asylum seekers arrived on British shores between Labour's thumping victory last summer and March 29 this year.
The figure equates to just over 780 per week, compared to 570 for Rishi Sunak and just 400 for Boris Johnson.
After entering No10, Starmer vowed to "smash the gangs" but immediately axed Sunak's Rwanda relocation plan.
Sir Keir Starmer
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Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp claimed the latest surge has come as a "direct consequence" of the decision to cancel the Rwanda scheme.
He said: “Today’s conference will make no difference. Law enforcement alone cannot stop illegal immigration – you need a removals deterrent.”
The Prime Minister was also told his plan to stop all small boats embarking on the perilous 21-mile journey is “unrealistic”.
Major General Duncan Capps, who heads up the small boats operational command, told The Times he believes it is only possible to "significantly reduce" migrant crossings.
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Migrants arriving in Kent PAHe warned: "I think it will be very difficult, but if we can cut off the supply of boats and engines, the illegal manufacture of these, I think we could get it to a point where it’s just not viable.
"In a perfect world, we could disestablish the operation that I run so we don’t need to have that any more."
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also accused the Prime Minister of letting 30,000 migrants enter the UK after entering No10.
Speaking to The Sun, Farage fumed: "He promised to smash the gangs, but he’s smashing Rishi Sunak’s record instead."
Nigel FaragePAHowever, a Home Office spokesman argued: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
"The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay, and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.
“That’s why the UK is hosted the landmark Organised Immigration Crime Summit, bringing together 40 countries to dismantle people-smuggling gangs.
"This adds to our action to strengthen enforcement powers, ramp up returns to their highest levels for more than half a decade and crackdown on illegal working.”
