Shabana Mahmood refuses to guarantee small boat crossings will drop by 2027

More than 41,474 completed the perilous 21-mile journey in 2025, with an extra 23,242 migrants arriving on British shores during Sir Keir’s first six months in power.

Ms Mahmood maintained it was a "fiendishly difficult problem to resolve" after there was a rise of 13 per cent of crossings on Labour's watch last year, vowing her team will continue in its efforts to reduce the number of people smuggling gangs.

Now, facing a grilling from Liberal Democrat MP Ben Maguire on whether she felt confident her measures to tackle small boat crossings would yield positive results for Britain, she refused to set out a semblance of a timeframe.

"Lots of my constituents, and I'm sure your constituents, all of our constituents, are deeply concerned about this," he told the Birmingham Ladywood MP.

She told the Home Affairs Select Committee: "Those numbers are obviously not where I want to be either.

"This is an issue of deep concern in my own constituency and my city as well, so I fully hear what you and your constituents are saying, and it’s exactly where I am as well.

"These are unacceptable and the numbers need to come down. What I would say is this is a fiendishly difficult problem to resolve."

The Home Secretary further admitted there was no "silver bullet" and the issue demanded "long-term, careful, painful work" to combat "every bit".

Then, challenged on whether the figure would fall by next January, she smiled: "I would love to be in that position. I can’t guarantee I’m going to be in that position.

"That's because the measures will take some time to come into effect.

"We will legislate at the earliest opportunity to change the appeal system, to further restrict the way that Article 8 of the Human Rights Act is interpreted.

"There is a whole range of legislative changes that we have announced, which we are working at pace to draft and get right before we pass them in a Bill – that all necessarily does take some time."

Nevertheless, Ms Mahmood diverged from some of her Cabinet colleagues who have shifted blame onto Brexit in a bid to shrug off responsiblity onto their Tory predecessors.

Addressing the Home Secretary, Liberal Democrat MP Paul Koehler called the illegal crossings a "post-Brexit problem", Ms Mahmood brushed off his claim.

She said: "I’m sure there’s lots of other debate to be had about the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but is Brexit responsible for the boats?

"I don’t think that’s true."

But Ms Mahmood's refusal to set out a timeline has echoed Sir Keir Starmer's refusal to set out just how many migrants could be stopped by his new "smash the engines" plan.

Last week, the Prime Minister agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping UK and Chinese officers to work together to target the supply of small boats engines used by people smugglers.

More than half of small boat engines used by people smugglers crossing the English Channel are manufactured in China.

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