A record 230 people have arrived at Dover after crossing the English Channel in a single small boat, surpassing the previous record of 165. The dinghy arrived during the early hours of 10 August, bringing the total number of small-boat arrivals in 2026 to 14,819.
Reaction to the record crossing
Discussing the "breaking news" on TalkTV, presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer and former Cabinet minister Lord Redwood delivered a damning verdict on the Labour government's management of the crisis. Lord Redwood branded the situation a "disaster" and said it "makes Britain look weak and the government doesn't seem to be concerned about the problem at all."
He urged Andy Burnham to "go straight to Dover instead of these silly walkabout tours, listening to people trying to get confirmation that they're worried about the cost of living." He added: "We all know we're all worried about the cost of living."
Call for action on border force and France
Lord Redwood contended that Burnham needs to take greater action to address the matter. He said: "He's needed in Dover. He needs to talk to our border force. Will they change their tactics when they pick these people up in mid channel? Will they at least arrest the people who are driving the boats because they can see who's driving the boat when they go to the rescue?"
He further stated: "All the people on the boats should be required to tell the authorities in Britain who they paid and how they found out about the illegal boat trip because he needs to take his smashing the gangs rhetoric seriously and they're not really trying."
He also said Burnham needs to "get on the phone straight away to the president of France and say that we're not going to keep on paying a big chunk of our £660 million over three years for this appalling service."
Criticism of French authorities
Lord Redwood alleged that the French authorities "just sit and watch" and "allow" the illegal immigrants to board the boats. The 75-year-old vented: "They don't try and stop them. They don't arrest them. They don't puncture the boat when it's in shallow waters, all the things that would be much safer to do than the rescue mid channel which our border force vessels at considerable expense are forced to do by the complete inadequacy of the French authorities."
