THE small boats crisis in the English Channel is “deteriorating”, Downing Street admitted today.

This development followed a meeting between Sir Keir Starmer and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the G7 Summit in Canada, where they discussed efforts to address the significant issue of illegal migration.

It is believed to be the first time No10 has categorically stated the small boat saga is getting worse not better.

No10 said Sir Keir and Mr Macron agreed they must “find innovative ways” to battle the onslaught of dinghies reaching British shores.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson mentioned: “They anticipated the forthcoming UK-France summit in July, agreeing that their teams should aim for high-impact results that benefit both the British and French citizens.

“They affirmed migration should be a primary focus due to the worsening situation in the Channel, emphasizing the importance of collaborating with other partners to discover innovative methods to advance progress.”

Just yesterday Sir Keir faced ridicule for telling Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that the UK leads the world in tackling smuggling gangs.

A shocking 16,000 migrants have made the dangerous journey across the channel this year.

Small boat landings are up 42 per cent this year.

The PM said he needs more cooperation from Mr Macron in northern France to stop the crammed dinghies.

Sir Keir appeared to be inching closer to sending migrants to off-shore processing hubs as it as the pair discussed “innovative solutions” to the problem.

Italy has a deal with Albania where centres are being used there for fast-track asylum processing as part of a £600 million deal.

Sir Keir cancelled the controversial Rwanda deportation deal devised under the Tory government.

Last night a probe by Reform UK found illegal migrants have been given free TV licences on the taxpayer.

Nigel Farage’s “Doge” waste-buster team found in 2022 at least £1,000 was spent by Kent County Council on paying small boat arrivals’ telly charge.

They have also been taken trampolining, bowling and to the cinema, according to the party’s audit of the town hall they now control.

They believe the jollies — alongside spending at JD Sports and PC World — have cost more than £24,000 of taxpayer cash.

Meanwhile, hapless French cops are getting even worse at preventing small boats crossing the Channel — despite demanding more money from British taxpayers.

Police in Calais are making a mockery of the current £480million deal with the UK by stopping a lower proportion of illegal migrants this year, shock figures show.

It comes the day after The Sun told how officers refused to get their feet wet as an asylum seeker family struggled in water trying to reach a dinghy off Gravelines.

Analysis of Home Office data, which details how many migrants France claims to have prevented from making the journey, reveals the three-year cooperation agreement has changed nothing.

Since May 2024, there have been only two months in which French cops have stopped more migrants than the number arriving in the UK — last August and this January.

Our research also found that in March, for every migrant caught or made to turn back, 2.36 were picked up by the UK Border Force.

During seven days in late April, 1,312 migrants arrived, yet only 303 were stopped — a ratio of more than four to one.

Overall, three of the French police’s five least effective weeks have come since the start of 2025.