Andy Burnham has been accused of “gaslighting” Britons by blaming Brexit for the country's small boat crisis. The Prime Minister, who failed to promise to stop crossings, suggested a “loss of collaboration” with neighbouring countries following the UK's exit from the EU had impacted efforts to stop illegal arrivals.
His comments on Friday came as two men died within 48 hours of each other while attempting to cross the English Channel.
Shadow Home Secretary reacts furiously
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP reacted furiously to the Prime Minister's suggestion. He said: “This is total nonsense. Andy Burnham is gaslighting us all to hide his own failures, with over 1,000 illegal immigrants coming in this week alone.
“Under the previous Dublin arrangements in the EU, we only ever sent a handful of people back to Europe, and in fact received more than we sent. While in Dublin, removals accounted for only a tiny fraction of small-boat arrivals. Other European countries are still in the Dublin scheme, and it hasn't helped Germany, France or even Ireland with their illegal migration problems. Andy Burnham is not telling the truth.
“The only way to stop the crossings is to deport all illegal immigrants upon arrival. To do this, we need to leave the European Convention on Human Rights. And that's the one thing that weak borders Burnham will never do.”
Prime Minister's response
In a BBC South East interview, the Prime Minister was pressed on whether he would stop small boats – a commitment already made by the Conservatives and Reform UK.
Mr Burnham said: “You've got to keep working towards that. I do point to the loss of collaboration with neighbours that came with Brexit. That hasn't helped. We had a more... cooperative system, if you like, in the past, so we are not able to have the same levels of collaboration that we used to have, but I don't put that forward as a reason why we won't keep working until we get the crossings right down.”
Speaking as part of a blitz of regional media interviews ahead of Labour's conference on Sunday, he added: “That is our goal, that we don't want to see any crossings at all. I'm not going to give you a date by which we can do that, or a promise that we will do it, as other governments have done in terms of a particular deadline. But what I will say to you is I will not stop nor will the Home Secretary until we bear down every element of this criminal, illegal activity and that we do so in a way that gets the numbers right now.”
Home Secretary orders urgent review
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood hit out at undetected migrant landings on UK beaches this week. She ordered an urgent review after two boats reached Kent without being intercepted.
44 migrants arrived on Thursday in one boat, which was significantly lower than the 781 migrants who arrived in 10 small boats the previous day, the highest number for a single day in 2026.
So far this year 18,565 people have made the Channel crossing, which is 42% lower than the same period in 2025 when 32,188 had made the treacherous journey to England in small boats.
This week's crossing has taken the number of small boat arrivals since Labour stormed to victory in the 2024 General Election to 83,279 – this is more than the number of soldiers in the British Army.
The two migrants' deaths this week happened when around 70 people were preparing to make the treacherous journey from the Camiers and Sainte-Cécile area on Thursday. The death, from a suspected heart attack, came 24 hours after another man also died on the beach of Neufchâtel-Hardelot following an attempt to leave for England.
French prosecutors have opened criminal enquiries into the tragedies. At least 21 people – including women and children – have died on the Channel route towards the UK since the beginning of the year, estimates have suggested.
