By David Barrett Editor Neil Sears
More than 20,000 small boat migrants have reached Britain since the start of the year, in a damning indictment of Labour’s record on controlling our borders.
Nearly 900 migrants arrived in Dover yesterday from northern France, followed by hundreds more so far today.
On top of a confirmed 19,982 arrivals up to yesterday, it means this year’s tally has already hit 20,000.
The same milestone was not hit until mid-to-late August in previous years, including 2022 – the year which went on to see a record annual total of 45,700 arrivals.
The Home Office confirmed there were 879 arrivals on Monday, meaning the total for the first half of this year is up a massive 48 per cent on the same period last year.
Since the start of the Channel crisis in 2018 more than 170,000 migrants have reached Britain by small boat – but only about four per cent have been removed.
It comes a year after Labour took power and scrapped the Conservatives’ Rwanda asylum deal, which was designed to deter migrants from mounting the perilous Channel crossing.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘One year into Labour’s government and the boats haven’t stopped – they’ve multiplied.
‘Labour tore up our deterrent and replaced it with fantasy.
‘This is the worst year on record, and it’s become a free-for-all.
‘We need a removals deterrent so every single illegal immigrant who arrives is removed to a location outside Europe. The crossings will then rapidly stop.’
He added: ‘People are furious – and rightly so.
‘Under new leadership, only the Conservatives have a credible plan to stop the crossings, restore control, and end the chaos.’
The Tories predicted this year’s annual total could go on to break records and hit 50,000.
The Mail beat the police to yet another dinghy departure before dawn this morning – a mile inland – then watched as the gendarmes did little to intervene.
At 5am the 30-foot rubber boat was in a canal to the sea through the popular migrant launchpad of Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk.
The Mail has known for more than a year this canal is a hotspot for so-called ‘taxi-boats’ to set off with just a few passengers, before picking up larger groups.
The people smugglers are well aware police will not intervene once they are afloat.
So under the eyes of a two dozen Police Nationals CRS riot squad officers – armed with handguns and unused tear gas – who arrived in five vans, more than 100 migrants, including toddlers, gathered on the canal banks to prepare to board.
On this occasion, the dinghy did not make it across the Channel, not due to the police,but thanks to its cheap Chinese outboard motor, which failed to start.
We watched alongside the police for more than two hours before the boat drifted out with the tide into a canal jetty.
The 17 mainly Africa and Middle-Eastern young men aboard were then allowed to simply walk off and away to the nearby migrant camp to try again tomorrow.
The French version of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution the towed the stricken dinghy to a slipway, where an officer proudly slashed it with a knife.
Meanwhile, police and a charity worker told us, at least three other dinghies had successfully set sail for England from elsewhere on approaching 100 miles of coast.
Labour pledged to ‘smash the gangs’ by placing a new emphasis on law enforcement tactics.
But arrivals are rocketing and the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels at the taxpayers’ expense has gone up since the election, despite a Labour pledge to end their use.
Accommodation costs are expected to hit more than £15billion over 10 years – triple the original estimate – the National Audit Office said in May.
The overall cost of the asylum system was £5.3billion in 2023-24, more than double the amount spent in 2021-22.
Yesterday migrants were photographed brazenly posing for selfies aboard an overloaded dinghy bound for Britain.
And one expert warned that new powers due to come into force this month allowing French police to stop migrant boats in the water will have a negligible impact on illegal migration.
Lucy Moreton, of the ISU trade union which represents Border Force staff, said migrants may simply switch to other modes of transport such as yachts and concealing themselves in the back of HGVs.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government has finally agreed to change its rules so gendarmes and other officials can intercept dinghies already in the Channel, and prevent them heading for Britain.
Ms Moreton said: ‘I don’t think stopping the boats in the water will have any meaningful impact on the number of people entering the UK illegally.
‘We have been working on the border for 10 years monitoring migration and the one thing we’ve learned in that time is when one route closes, another opens.’
People traffickers have begun using ‘taxi boats’ which cruise along the French beaches, collecting waiting groups of migrants, in a bid to evade police.
This tactic could finally be addressed once French officials are allowed to stop boats in the water – which is likely to come into force in the next few weeks.
The new ‘maritime doctrine’ will allow French police to block small boat departures within 300 metres of the shoreline.
However, French police unions are understood to have concerns their members may be required to enter the water wearing ‘Kevlar’ body armour, which can weigh up to 6lbs and would put them at risk of drowning.
Last month sources said French officers had also raised concerns about being unable to carry firearms if they are required to go into the sea, because salt water would damage the weapons.
French police colonel Olivier Alary told the BBC earlier this month his teams ‘will be able to do more’ once the 300 metre rule comes into force.
Labour is also poised to announce a ‘migrant swap’ deal with France, but the impact it will have remains unclear.
It is expected to allow Channel migrants who reach Britain to be returned to France in ‘one for one’ exchanges for others who have a more convincing asylum case, such as those with relatives already in the UK, or those from war zones.
Last week the borders watchdog has said he was ‘not convinced’ Labour’s plan to ‘smash the gangs’ will end the Channel crisis, and predicted ministers will fail to end use of asylum hotels by end of this Parliament.
Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration David Bolt said he had written to ministers to express his doubts about the plan.
Illegal migration will be one of the key topics addressed by the PM with Mr Macron next week during his State visit to the UK.