Sir John Redwood has called for Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to crack down on small boat crossings and for UK Border Force to immediately arrest people steering the boats across the Channel.
The former Conservative MP criticised current enforcement efforts and branded them "completely unacceptable" during an appearance on GB News.
He argued that Border Force should be instructed to target those piloting the vessels as they are clearly members of people smuggling gangs.
"You've got to say to Border Force, one of your prime duties is to arrest the ring leaders and the drivers of the boats, because we need to break this," Redwood said.
Sir John Redwood urged Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to crack down on small boat pilots after shock figures are revealed
PA / GB News
The fresh calls have been made to the Home Secretary after new Home Office data revealed just five people have been convicted of piloting small boats across the English Channel this year - despite more than 7,000 making the illegal crossing.
Discussing the statistic on GB News, Redwood questioned why the Home Secretary wasn't instructing Border Force to take such action, and highlighted what he sees as a contradiction in current policy implementation.
"We had a new policy - a policy of deterrence by Rwanda, which was scrapped. The new policy is to crack down on the gangs," he explained.
"You can see a member of the gang in each of the boats because they're driving it. They probably collected the fares," Redwood added.
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The former MP emphasised that these individuals are breaking numerous laws: "They are breaking all sorts of laws, from tax laws to seriously endangering people's lives. So why aren't we cracking down on that?"
Redwood suggested alternative approaches to tackle the smuggling operations.
"Why don't we do some mystery shopping as well? Because these things are all apparently advertised on the internet for people to pay their sums of money in order to go on these boat trips," he proposed.
He outlined how UK officials could pose as potential migrants: "Why can't our officials pretend to be somebody who wants to do this and then turn up with the money and arrest them instead?"
Redwood told GB News that the level of arrests is 'unacceptable'
GB News
Redwood also questioned the value of money the UK pays to France to help prevent crossings.
"We are paying the French millions, so we ought to be supervising what we're getting back," he stated.
He suggested that British taxpayers should expect better results from this financial arrangement: "For our money to France, we should expect them to stop the boats taking up. It's dangerous as soon as they put to sea."
He emphasised the need for accountability in the cross-Channel cooperation, stating: "We've got to really demand value for money."
In a statement, a Home Office spokesman said: "Since January 1 2025, CFI Immigration Enforcement have convicted 17 individuals for piloting a small boat, including five who committed the offence in 2025. In 2024, 64 individuals were convicted."
