UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Home Office minister Jacqui Smith admits small boat crossings have surged past 49,000, while shifting blame to the prior administration.
As reported by The Independent, the government has admitted failure to tackle the small boats crisis, with Channel crossings since Labour took office nearing 50,000.
What did Baroness Jacqui Smith say about the small boats crisis?
Baroness Jacqui Smith said the figure of people making the dangerous crossing to Britain is “a problem that, up to this point, we haven’t managed to tackle.” She insisted the fault lies with the last government.
She said,
“The last government enabled this hideous criminal activity to get its roots across Europe,” adding that there is now “really important action being taken to tackle it.”
Referring to the small boat crossing figures, Ms Smith stated,
“This is a problem that has, up to this point, we haven’t managed to tackle in terms of the numbers who are coming here. But it is a completely legitimate claim to say that what is happening is the result of the last government, which chose to focus on gimmicks, the Rwanda scheme, which returned four volunteers.”
She said,
“We’re taking responsibility. I don’t believe it was our fault that it was enabled to take root in the way in which it has done by a government who failed to do what was necessary.”
Ms Smith declined to say when the boat crossing numbers will be blamed on Labour’s government.
The home office minister stated,
“What I’m pointing out is that we’ve taken our responsibility to work internationally, to change the law… the last government did none of those things and focused on gimmicks.”
She added,
“It’s because of that that the crime behind this got embedded in the way in which it did, and that won’t be solved overnight. And we’re absolutely clear about that responsibility.”
How is the Government responding to rising small boat crossings?
In response to growing public concern, the government launched last week the “one in, one out” returns deal with France, which is now in effect.
The government has expanded its “deport now, appeal later” policy, allowing the deportation of foreign offenders before their appeals are heard.
Home Office figures show that 49,797 people have crossed the Channel by small boat since Labour’s election win, highlighting the government’s ongoing challenge in managing the crisis.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took 603 days to pass the 50,000 small boat crossings milestone, while ex-PM Boris Johnson reached the same number after 1,066 days, which included the Covid-19 crisis.
Labour has pledged to tackle the arrival of small boats, a central issue in its government plan. Boat crossings remain at high levels, and the asylum backlog exceeds 75,000, putting growing pressure on ministers to take tougher measures amid Reform UK’s rising poll numbers.
The government hopes its measures will bring down the number of people crossing into the UK. Protests against housing asylum seekers in hotels have erupted across Britain, resulting in several arrests.
The number of migrants crossing the Channel to the UK hit 25,000 last month, marking the earliest such milestone since 2018.
What did Yvette Cooper say about the new Channel Crossing treaty with France?
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated,
“Under the terms of this groundbreaking new treaty, the first group of people to cross the Channel were detained after their arrival at Western Jet Foil and will now be held in detention until they can be returned to France. That sends a message to every migrant currently thinking of paying organised crime gangs to go to the UK that they will be risking their lives and throwing away their money if they get into a small boat.”
She said,
“No one should be making this illegal and dangerous journey that undermines our border security and lines the pockets of the criminal gangs.”
Ms Cooper added,
“Criminal gangs have spent 7 years embedding themselves along our border, and it will take time to unravel them, but these detentions are an important step towards undermining their business model and unravelling the false promises they make. These are the early days for this pilot scheme, and it will develop over time. But we are on track to do what no other government has done since this crisis first started – sending small boat arrivals back to France and strengthening our borders through the Plan for Change.”
Key facts about illegal migrants in the UK in 2025
More people tried to cross the Channel to the UK in early 2025, with 41,800 attempts. Many were from Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Somalia, looking for family or work.
In July, the UK and France made a deal to send some migrants back and take in others with family in the UK.