Keir Starmer admits migrant crisis is 'deteriorating' as 40,000 cross Channel under PM's watch

Starmer said: “I want to see more cooperation in northern France, and it’s an issue that I have raised and will raise again with President Macron.”

However, Downing Street last night admitted that the situation in the English Channel is “deteriorating”.

Following Starmer’s meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, a No10 spokesman said: “Migration should be a key focus given the deteriorating situation in the Channel, they confirmed - adding that they should continue to work closely with other partners to find innovative ways to drive forward progress.”

The admission comes just weeks before the Prime Minister prepares to mark his first year in No10.

Since Labour swept to power in the 2024 General Election, Channel crossings have surged - hitting 30,000 under Starmer on March 26.

On the same day, migrant crossings for 2025 had already hit 6,100.

The total number of migrants who have crossed the Channel this calendar year now stands just shy of 16,000 - taking overall figures since Starmer entered office up to 40,000.

GB News exclusively revealed that more than 2,000 small boat migrants have crossed the Channel in the last week alone.

And at least 250 people have made the treacherous crossing so far today.

Labour’s migrant record also came under fire last week after Treasury Minister Darren Jones appeared to claim a majority of asylum seekers crossing the Channel are women and children.

Jones, who made the claim during a heated exchange with Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf on BBC Question Time last Thursday, later clarified that he was only talking about one boat.

Recent Home Office figures also confirmed that 73 percent percent of small boat arrivals in 2024 - or 26,999 out of all 36,816 arrivals - were adult males.

Defending his position in a GB News grilling with Camilla Tominey, Jones took aim at Reform UK.

He told the People’s Channel: "It's been clipped by Reform in a particular way.

“If you look at the whole conversation, I wasn't referring to the whole number of people being a majority of women and babies I was telling a story about a visit I had to the Border Security Command."

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had already shared a 10-second clip of Jones’s exchange with Yusuf on social media.

Farage said: “Labour’s Darren Jones claims the majority of illegal migrants crossings at Dover are 'children, babies and women'.

“This is simply not true. Another clueless Labour Minister.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.

“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.

“That is why this Government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.

“Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders.”