Sweeping changes to immigration policy will allow the UK to make progress in tackling the small boats crisis in 2026, the Immigration Minister has told GB News.
In an exclusive interview with the People's Channel, Mike Tapp said new powers would make it less attractive to come to Britain and easier for authorities to deport illegal arrivals. His comments come as the number of Channel migrants reaching the country over the previous 12 months hit 41,500, the second busiest year on record.
When Sir Keir Starmer came to office in July 2024, he promised to smash the gangs and end dangerous crossings. But 18 months on, by the most obvious measure, the numbers arriving in the UK, the Prime Minister has failed on that key pledge.
In fact, it has been the second-highest year on record. Only poor weather throughout November and much of December prevented it from surpassing the more than 45,000 who arrived back in 2022.
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In France, there has been no slowdown in the number people arriving in camps. For residents in French towns along the Channel Coast, it has been a miserable year.
GB News has documented increasing levels of violence and criminality in the area. Dozens of migrants have been killed or injured over the past 18 months as inter-gang rivalries reached new levels of brutality.
In the UK, there has been increasing levels of concern at the fact many of those arriving here have no documentation, as authorities try to determine what their criminal past might be.
A year of highly alarming incidents in the UK linked to asylum seekers brought thousands onto the streets, who protested outside migrant accommodation.
Despite the growing levels of anger, and no sign of any let up in illegal migrant crossings, Mr Tapp told GB News he was confident the Government was making progress. He said: "We inherited open borders. We've seen recently sweeping changes to the immigration system to make it less attractive to come here, easier to deport and remove people, and of course, counter-terror powers to take on the smuggling gangs. And I'm confident we'll make progress".
A much-publicised returns deal with France has so far seen only very modest numbers sent back to mainland Europe. The Government says it hopes to expand the programme.
And a long-anticipated plan for the French to push migrant boats back onto the beaches, has yet to begin, with indications it will only ever be used in rare cases. French policing unions have repeatedly voiced opposition to the proposals and are urging officers not to cooperate for fear they will be left unprotected by politicians should a tragedy unfold.
Tony Smith, former director-general of UK Border Force, believes Labour has to find a major third-country deterrent, like the previous Conservative administration's agreement with Rwanda.
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Tony Smith says the Government must find a stronger deterrent
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He said: “I think for the more difficult countries, we do need a Rwanda-style deterrent, but it has to be a laser-like focus on removals. That's what we need. In my experience, the only way to tackle asylum intake is to say we will detain you when you get here and we will remove you. That's the only message, I'm afraid, that the migrants and the smugglers are going to understand.
"We need much stronger policies if we're actually going to stop the boats. And I'm afraid neither the conservatives nor the Labour Party so far have been able to to do that."
Throughout 2025, UK law enforcement managed several key arrests and prosecutions of those linked to people smuggling. However, despite those successes, it seems to have made a dent on a criminal trade that continues to push ever greater numbers towards to the UK.
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