More than 700 migrants are believed to have attempted to cross the English Channel towards Britain, just 24 hours after Prime Minister Andy Burnham claimed the Government's plan to stop small boats was "working".
The crossings took place during one of the busiest days of the year so far, although the final number has not yet been officially confirmed by the Home Office.
Philp witnesses French inaction
On Wednesday, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp spent the day monitoring departures from a beach in northern France and said one French officer told him they had orders not to intervene. Philp watched as French gendarmes stood by while more than 100 migrants gathered in shallow waters before attempting to board an overloaded inflatable boat bound for the UK.
People smugglers also appeared to have adopted a new approach, with boats reportedly being launched at the same time from multiple locations along the French coast.
Burnham defends policy
The surge came after Burnham defended the Government's handling of the Channel crisis on Tuesday. "The numbers can fluctuate but, overall, boat crossings are down, down quite significantly year on year. So that does suggest the plan is working," the Prime Minister said.
However, the scale of the latest crossings – which has not yet been officially confirmed by the Home Office – could suggest that the fall in migrant numbers is coming to an end.
Unofficial estimates
Unofficial estimates suggested around 570 migrants had reached Dover by Tuesday evening, while three dinghies were still making their way across the Channel. It was unclear whether those boats would cross the midpoint of the Channel and be picked up by Border Force before midnight, meaning they could be included in that day's figures.
One of the boats used by traffickers was understood to have launched from Belgian waters earlier in the day. The first arrivals were believed to have reached Britain in the early hours, only hours after the Prime Minister had expressed confidence in the current measures.
Confrontation on the beach
Later, Mr Philp confronted a French gendarme at Hardelot-Plage, south of Boulogne, asking: "Why have you allowed the migrants into the water? Why haven't you stopped them?" The officer shrugged and replied: "Our order is to let them go like that. We just have to say to them 'Don't do that, it's dangerous'."
At one point, Mr Philp waded into the sea just feet away from waiting migrants, who he said were predominantly young men from sub-Saharan Africa. He also confronted a person on the dinghy who appeared to be a people smuggler, telling him: "You're committing a number of criminal offences. You're attempting to illegally enter the United Kingdom."
Criticism of Home Secretary
The Tory frontbencher said the scenes he witnessed showed the failure of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's new £662million deal with the French government. Ms Mahmood said the three-year agreement, signed in April, would target dinghy departures through enhanced beach patrols and tougher tactics. The Home Office said at the time that the deal would "slash crossing numbers".
Mr Philp said: "Shabana Mahmood has paid half a billion pounds of our money unconditionally – yet I saw gendarmes doing nothing and they told me they had orders to take no physical action but just talk to the migrants. Andy Burnham just said there was no problem. I saw with my own eyes today how out of touch he is."
Wider context
At another location targeted by traffickers, dozens of migrants were seen sprinting towards the water at Gravelines, between Dunkirk and Calais, to board a dinghy. Boats were also reported to have been launched as far south as Dieppe.
One of Labour's first actions after taking power was to scrap the previous government's Rwanda asylum scheme, which had been designed to deter crossings and save lives. Labour instead pursued an alternative plan focused on increasing operations by police and law enforcement agencies in an attempt to "smash the gangs".
The approach initially failed to reduce crossings, with last year seeing the second-highest number on record at 41,500. So far this year, there have been 13,376 arrivals, not including the latest unconfirmed total, representing a 45 per cent drop compared with the same point last year. The highest number recorded so far this year was 710 arrivals on June 15. Since the small boats crisis began in 2018, a total of 205,986 migrants have reached Britain.
Burnham has faced criticism for his silence on illegal migration since becoming Prime Minister on July 20, having not set out his own plans for tackling the crisis. During a visit to Derby on Tuesday, he was asked whether he had a plan to deal with small boat crossings. He defended the Government's approach, saying: "The Home Secretary has brought forward a very rigorous plan in relation to this. Let's remember, the numbers can fluctuate, but overall, boat crossings are down, down quite significantly year on year. So that does suggest that the plan is working."
