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Labour has been accused of overseeing a ‘full-blown borders crisis’ after an unescorted migrant boat arrived on British shores for the first time in almost three years.
The small boat made it to a beach in Kent on Saturday without being intercepted by Border Force vessels, it emerged today.
The last time the Home Office recorded a so-called ‘uncontrolled’ landing was in December 2022.
A Home Office spokesperson declined to comment because an internal investigation is still underway into Saturday’s incident.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp commented: ‘We have not witnessed uncontrolled landings for years until now. This reflects the fact that Labour cannot manage what’s happening across the Channel.
‘This is now a full-blown borders crisis.’
He added: ‘The last government had the Rwanda plan to stop the boats which Labour cancelled just before it was due to start.
‘Labour made a significant mistake by abolishing it without any alternative. This year has been the worst in history for Channel crossings as a result. This incident exemplifies the border chaos developing under Labour.’
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘This year so far has been the worst in history for Channel crossings’
During earlier stages of the Channel crisis, several unescorted small boats landed in Britain, and in some instances, migrants managed to disappear from the beaches before being captured.
As a result, the previous Conservative government introduced a number of tough measures.
In 2020, then-Home Secretary Priti Patel appointed a Clandestine Channel Threat Commander with a chief aim of preventing uncontrolled landings.
The then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson directed the Royal Navy to assume a crucial role in Channel patrols in 2022. The Navy was disbanded eight months later when Johnson’s successor, Rishi Sunak, established a Small Boats Operational Command.
Under Labour’s relaunched Border Security Command, the UK Border Force is tasked with intercepting all migrant dinghies.
Military involvement is thought to be limited to providing surveillance equipment.
A command centre at Lydd Airport in Kent, 25 miles south-west of Dover, manages the deployment of £6 million military ‘Watchkeeper’ drones over the Channel.
Operated by 47th Regiment Royal Artillery, they are able to hunt down migrant boats with high-definition optical sensors and infrared cameras.
Under Labour’s relaunched Border Security Command, the UK Border Force is tasked with intercepting all migrant dinghies
The latest uncontrolled landing took place at around 8pm on Saturday.
Police and immigration officers responded and detained five people for immigration processing, the Home Office confirmed.
A Kent Police spokesperson said: ‘At 7.50pm on Saturday, September 6, Kent Police was called to a report of suspected migrants near Kingsdown, Deal. Patrols attended and five people were detained and passed to Border Force officers.’
The incident took place on one of the busiest days for migrant crossings so far this year, with 1,096 arrivals in just one day.
It was only the second time this year that more than 1,000 migrants have reached the UK in a 24-hour period, and the tenth time since the crisis began in 2018.
Today, one woman was confirmed to have died during a Channel crossing.
A Kent Police spokesperson said they were alerted by the Coastguard to an incident involving a small boat just after 1pm:
‘One woman was airlifted back to shore where she was pronounced deceased. Officers are conducting enquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident,’ the spokesperson said.
The tragedy came amid a further wave of arrivals, thought to number several hundred.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure to end the crossings.
Last week, former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was moved sideways to become Foreign Secretary after failing to get a grip on the Channel crisis in the 14 months since the general election.
