Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has condemned Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham after more than 700 immigrants attempted to cross the English Channel in a single day.
The surge came just 24 hours after Burnham insisted that the government’s approach to small boats was working.
“The numbers can fluctuate but, overall, boat crossings are down, down quite significantly year on year”, Burnham said. “So that does suggest the plan is working.”
But on Wednesday, hundreds of immigrants were seen boarding overcrowded dinghies from multiple spots along the French coast. According to unofficial estimates, around 570 had reached Dover by the evening, with several boats still crossing.
“At least 700 illegal immigrants in the Channel this morning”, Farage said. “The invasion continues. Yet Burnham said yesterday ‘the plan is working’. What planet is he on?”
The latest crossings follow the arrival of almost 900 immigrants during Burnham’s first week in Downing Street, including 165 people crammed aboard a record-breaking 42ft “mega dinghy”.
Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf warned that the increasingly large vessels showed that trafficking gangs were becoming more confident.
“The rise of these mega-dinghies proves people-smuggling gangs are getting bolder while yet another government stands by and does nothing”, Yusuf said.
French officers were also seen standing by as immigrants - predominantly young men from sub-Saharan Africa - boarded boats. This is despite the UK government agreeing to pay France £662 million to stop them.
The boats will continue for as long as those who enter Britain illegally have a realistic prospect of remaining here.
A Reform UK government would leave the European Convention on Human Rights, repeal the Human Rights Act and pass emergency legislation making anyone who enters the country illegally ineligible for asylum.
Under Operation Restoring Justice, illegal arrivals would be intercepted, detained and deported. Reform UK would establish a dedicated UK Deportation Command and construct secure removal centres with space for up to 24,000 people.
Unlike Andy Burnham, Reform UK has a serious plan to stop the boats and restore control of Britain’s borders.
The surge came just 24 hours after Burnham insisted that the government’s approach to small boats was working.
“The numbers can fluctuate but, overall, boat crossings are down, down quite significantly year on year”, Burnham said. “So that does suggest the plan is working.”
But on Wednesday, hundreds of immigrants were seen boarding overcrowded dinghies from multiple spots along the French coast. According to unofficial estimates, around 570 had reached Dover by the evening, with several boats still crossing.
“At least 700 illegal immigrants in the Channel this morning”, Farage said. “The invasion continues. Yet Burnham said yesterday ‘the plan is working’. What planet is he on?”
The latest crossings follow the arrival of almost 900 immigrants during Burnham’s first week in Downing Street, including 165 people crammed aboard a record-breaking 42ft “mega dinghy”.
Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf warned that the increasingly large vessels showed that trafficking gangs were becoming more confident.
“The rise of these mega-dinghies proves people-smuggling gangs are getting bolder while yet another government stands by and does nothing”, Yusuf said.
French officers were also seen standing by as immigrants - predominantly young men from sub-Saharan Africa - boarded boats. This is despite the UK government agreeing to pay France £662 million to stop them.
The boats will continue for as long as those who enter Britain illegally have a realistic prospect of remaining here.
A Reform UK government would leave the European Convention on Human Rights, repeal the Human Rights Act and pass emergency legislation making anyone who enters the country illegally ineligible for asylum.
Under Operation Restoring Justice, illegal arrivals would be intercepted, detained and deported. Reform UK would establish a dedicated UK Deportation Command and construct secure removal centres with space for up to 24,000 people.
Unlike Andy Burnham, Reform UK has a serious plan to stop the boats and restore control of Britain’s borders.
