Yvette Cooper has been branded “weak” after Labour blamed the WEATHER for record-breaking migrant crossings that have seen more than 10,000 people arrive illegally in small boats this year.
The embattled Home Secretary claimed Britain’s border security is “dependent on the weather” as crossings soar 40% higher than the same period last year – despite Labour’s election promise to “smash the gangs.”
In an extraordinary admission that sparked fury from opposition MPs, Cooper blamed “calm weather days” for the surge in crossings, claiming smuggling gangs have been “taking advantage of the very high numbers of calm weather days.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp delivered a blistering response: “Labour seems to think praying for bad weather is a good border security strategy. This is a weak Government, with no plan to end illegal immigrants crossing the channel.”
Blaming the weather for the highest ever crossing numbers so far this year is the border security equivalent of a lazy student claiming ‘the dog ate my homework. This is a clear failure for our weak Prime Minister and his weak Home Secretary.
The damning numbers
The scale of Labour’s failure is laid bare in shocking new figures:
- 10,250 migrants have crossed so far in 2025
- 40% increase compared to same period last year
- 656 crossed in a single day – a 2025 record
- 31% increase since Labour came to power
- 8,061 arrivals as of April, compared to 4,600 in 2024
Cooper’s weather excuse
During a car-crash media round, Cooper repeatedly blamed the weather for the crisis engulfing her department.
“The criminal smuggler gangs are also taking advantage of the very high numbers of calm weather days [which have] been much higher than previous years,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Nick Robinson.
The reason that we’re ending up with that border security being affected by the weather is because the way in which these gangs have taken root.
On Times Radio, she admitted: “The boats are high and this is undermining border security, it’s putting lives at risk. It’s why it’s so essential to take action on the criminal gangs that are underpinning this vile trade in people. They have been taking advantage of the much higher number of calm weather days.”
‘Worst Home Secretary ever’
GB News commentator Emma Woolf didn’t hold back in her assessment of Cooper’s performance.
I think Yvette Cooper may be in line for being the worst Home Secretary ever, and we’ve had a few hopeless home secretaries,” she fumed.
“We’re not just a soft touch at this point, we’re actually welcoming them with open arms.”
Woolf added that Sir Keir Starmer has “almost given up” on tackling the crisis, claiming their method to “smash the gangs” has “failed.
They don’t smash the gangs and they don’t stop the boats,” she declared.
The ‘red days’ defence
Labour officials have attempted to justify the surge by pointing to an increase in so-called “red days” – when calm weather and sea conditions are conducive to crossings.
They claim these have risen from 17 to 42 compared with the same period in 2024.
But critics say this is simply making excuses for a failed policy that has seen crossings accelerate rather than decrease under Labour’s watch.
‘Cannot continue like this’
In a damning admission of failure, Cooper herself acknowledged: “The really unacceptable situation that we’re in is because of the way the criminal gangs have taken hold, our border security ends up being dependent on the weather.
We cannot continue like this where the number of calm days affects the number of crossings.”
The Home Secretary revealed that the French government has now agreed to allow its law enforcement officers to stop migrants’ boats at sea for the first time – but this won’t begin until later this year.
Pull factors ignored
Critics say Cooper has completely failed to address the “pull factors” attracting migrants to Britain, including:
- Immediate free accommodation
- Free clothing and phones
- Access to healthcare
- Access to public funds
- Total lack of cooperation from French authorities
Meanwhile, people smugglers continue to make “spectacular profits” from their illicit trade.
Reform’s fury
Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe didn’t mince words about the crisis: “I always try to understand where political opponents are coming from. But on thousands of unknown foreign young men illegally entering the UK? Then cared for and housed at our expense? Endangering British people?”
“It’s entirely unjustifiable – there is no reasonable defence.”
Reform leader Nigel Farage launched a blistering Commons attack on Cooper, branding Labour’s “smash the gangs” policy an “absolute failure.
The Rwanda effect
Critics point out that crossings have surged since Labour scrapped the Rwanda deterrent “before it even started.
“They should never have cancelled the Rwanda removals deterrent before it even started. That’s why 2025 is the worst year in history for illegal crossings – not the weather,” Philp said.
The bottom line
As one Westminster insider put it: “Labour promised to smash the gangs and stop the boats. Instead they’re praying for storms and blaming the sunshine. It’s pathetic.”
With crossings at record levels and no credible plan beyond hoping for bad weather, Cooper’s position looks increasingly untenable.
The message to criminal gangs couldn’t be clearer: Britain’s borders are wide open – just wait for a sunny day.
Image: Home Secretary Yvette Cooper attends G7 in Italy (54040314141)
Author: UK Home Office
License: CC BY 2.0
Source: Wikimedia Commons
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