Sir Keir Starmer's "smash the gangs" policy has suffered a major blow as GB News can confirm the number of migrants arriving illegally by small boat has passed the total for the whole of last year.
The grim milestone figure was passed at lunchtime on Wednesday as two Border Force vessels arrived at Dover harbour with 150 migrants on board.
This takes the total number of arrivals so far this year to 36,886.
The figure is 70 higher than the 36,816 migrants who crossed the Channel illegally during the whole of 2024.
It is the worst possible news for the Prime Minister, who vowed to get a grip of the small boat crisis after winning the 2024 General Election.
Senior maritime security sources have said that reaching last year's total with more than two months of this year left to run will be "deeply concerning for ministers".
In a statement on small boat crossings, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "The previous Government left our borders in crisis, and we are still living with the consequences.
"These figures are shameful – the British people deserve better.
The total number of arrivals so far this year has exceeded 36,886
|PA
"This Government is taking action. We have detained and removed more than 35,000 who were here illegally.
"Our historic deal with the French means those who arrive on small boats are now being sent back.
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"But it is clear we must go further and faster – removing more of those here illegally, and stopping migrants from making small boat crossings in the first place.
"And I have been clear: I will do whatever it takes to restore order to our border."
Under the returns deal, anyone entering the UK on a small boat can be immediately detained and returned to France | PAThe increasingly desperate Government is hopeful its ‘one in, one out’ returns arrangement with France will reap rewards.
It was revealed earlier today that one migrant deported under the deal has returned to the UK on a small boat.
The man has crossed the Channel for a second time and is now being held in a UK immigration centre.
Sir Keir has repeatedly claimed his plan would deter small boats, but so far just 42 people have been sent back to France.
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron struck a returns arrangement
| REUTERSThe man told The Guardian he was scared for his life in France and claimed he had been exploited by smugglers in the forests near Calais.
He said: “If I had felt that France was safe for me I would never have returned to the UK.”
It is understood the man, an Iranian national, was detained on August 6 and removed on September 19.
He returned via small boat on October 18.
The ‘one-in, one-out’ deal was designed to send illegal small boat arrivals back to France in exchange for the same number of asylum seekers being accepted legally from there.
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