A total of 29,884 asylum seekers arrived on British shores between Labour’s General Election victory last summer and March 29 this year, new data has revealed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been lambasted for his efforts to tackle Britain’s growing migrant crisis, as new figures have shown that the Labour leader hold the “worst record of any Prime Minister” on small boat crossings.
Small boat migrant crossings have surged to record levels under Starmer’s Government, with more than 6,600 migrants detected in the Channel during the first three months of 2025. Despite Labour’s efforts to “smash the gangs”, Starmer recently admitted at an international summit that Britain had been a “soft touch” on illegal migration for too long.
Speaking to GB News, Chairman of Migration Watch UK Alp Mehmet warned that if current rates of Channel crossings continue, Britain could see “60,000 migrants” enter the country under Labour’s rule.
“The Prime Minister is said to be angry about it all – not nearly as angry as the rest of the country, frankly – all the promises, and what have we had?” he told GB News.
He stated: “After he said we were smashing the gangs during the election, that’s what we heard over and over again, they were going to do away with the backlog, they were going to do all sorts of things. And what’s happened?
“The number of people in hotels has grown; they were going to do away with that. The number of people in the backlog has grown, and the number of people crossing the Channel has shot up. It’s 30 per cent more than it was in 2022, when by year’s end we had 45,500.”
Issuing a stark warning to Starmer, Mehmet claimed that if the migration crisis continues at its current rate, Britain could see “60,000 people crossing in boats”.
Offering more robust solutions for the Government, Mehmet explained: “If that rate continues by the end of the year, we’re looking at 60,000 people crossing in boats – that we know about.
“What the Government needs to do is actually take some firm action. They’ve got to send out the message that once you get here, if you get here illegally, make your way illegally, you’re not going to be able to stay, and start removing people.”
Expressing his concern for current legislation, Mehmet was particularly critical of the Government’s new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
Mehmet concluded: “It’s actually going to make it more encouraging for the traffickers. There’s no mention in that bill, not a single word, about removals.
“The only deterrent that was in place, and the only promise the Government has kept, was to remove the Rwanda arrangement, to do away with the act that put that in place. Now, what sort of commitment is that?”
Home Office data shows the figures are over 30 per cent higher than the previous record of just under 5,000 by this time in 2024.
The 30,000 threshold for migrants crossing the Channel under Starmer’s watch is expected to be passed within days.
