‘Poor darlings!’ Nigel Farage’s scathing retort to French border force refusing to stop illegal crossings

"Oh, dear. Dear, dear, poor darlings," he said in response to reports that French officers were "too frightened" to intervene.

Saunders called the situation "ridiculous", contrasting the French riot police's robust response to football rioters in Paris with their apparent reluctance to confront migrants in northern France.

"They're throwing stones at us," he quoted French authorities as saying, dismissing this as an inadequate excuse.

The Government is facing accusations of making a "pathetic attempt" to blame weather conditions for record Channel crossing numbers.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp condemned the move as an excuse for "total loss of border control", as figures show more "red days" of calm seas and sunshine during Sir Keir Starmer's tenure as Prime Minister.

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The criticism comes after nearly 1,200 migrants crossed in a single day on Saturday, with 14,811 arrivals in the first five months of this year - the highest since the crisis began in 2018.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper previously stated that the smuggling gangs' operations mean "our border security ends up being dependent on the weather".

Saunders said earlier in the interview: "It's so ridiculous. It's just not true.

"What's happening in real life is that this Government has got no idea of how they're going to stop the boats, and all that's happening is the migrants are saying, thank you very much, and they're coming over whenever they possibly can, and it will continue.

"The biggest mistake that that Starmer made was getting rid of Rwanda. We we should have given Rwanda a chance. It might not have worked but certainly without it there is now no deterrent."

More than 38,000 migrants have crossed the Channel since Labour took office last July, with internal Home Office assessments predicting this year could see record numbers.

Projections indicate up to 50,000 could arrive by the end of 2025, which would mark the highest annual figure since the crisis began.

The 20,000 illegal migrants who arrived between Labour's election victory and December coincided with a high number of favourable crossing days.

Starmer acknowledged public anger over the crossings, stating: "You have every right to be angry about small boat crossings. I'm angry too. We are ramping up our efforts to smash the people-smuggling gangs at source."

Defence Secretary John Healey has admitted that Britain has "lost control of its borders" as the crisis continues to escalate.