Shadow Home Secretary brands Saturday’s record crossings ‘a day of shame’ as shocking footage shows French officers standing idle while desperate families board death-trap dinghies
Sir Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure to immediately suspend his controversial 12-year EU fishing deal after more than 1,100 migrants arrived in Britain after crossing the Channel on Saturday – the highest number recorded on a single day so far this year.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp will today demand the Prime Minister halts the agreement – which extends EU fishing rights in UK waters until 2038 – until France takes serious action to stop the small boat crisis that has spiralled out of control.
The dramatic intervention comes after shocking footage emerged of French police officers watched as migrants, including children, boarded at a beach in Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk, in the morning, with authorities were then pictured escorting the boats.
‘A NATION REDUCED TO CHAOS’
In a blistering attack on Labour’s border failures, Philp declared: “Over a thousand illegal immigrants in a single day, boats flooding the Channel, Border Force stretched beyond breaking point, and even fishing vessels drafted in because our maritime rescue services are overwhelmed.
A nation reduced to chaos on the high seas while Keir Starmer hides behind platitudes and process”, the senior Conservative MP added.
The explosive figures show 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats on Saturday, pushing this year’s total to 14,811 – a staggering 42% higher than the same point last year.
FISHING INDUSTRY ‘HORROR SHOW’
The crisis has erupted just weeks after Starmer struck his Brexit ‘reset’ deal with Brussels, which the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, which had wanted to see annual negotiations agreed rather than a fixed multi-year deal, say any attempt to portray the deal as a continuation of existing arrangements “would be a lie.
Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the federation, said: “This deal is a horrorshow for Scottish fishermen, far worse than Boris Johnson’s botched Brexit agreement.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage warned the extended access for EU boats “will be the end of the fishing industry”, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch slammed it as “an amateur negotiation from the start, ending in a total sellout.
FRENCH ‘COMPLETELY FAILING’
Despite Britain paying France hundreds of millions of pounds to tackle the crisis, French authorities have intercepted just 38 per cent of migrants this year, representing a decline from 45 per cent last year.
Philp told The Telegraph: “The 12-year fishing deal the UK Government recently proposed with the EU, which is itself outrageous, should be immediately suspended until the French actually stop all these illegal immigrants, including using interceptions at sea”.
Defence Secretary John Healey admitted the scenes from Saturday were “pretty shocking” and described the inability of French officers to intervene in shallow waters as a “really big problem”.
MARITIME CHAOS UNFOLDS
The scale of Saturday’s crisis was laid bare when the coastguard had to call on fishing boats to help a yacht which was taking on water, because all nearby maritime rescue assets were involved in dealing with migrants.
In the first four months of 2025, authorities from Frontex recorded almost 47,000 irregular entries into the European Union, but migrant crossings in the English Channel rose by 5% compared to last year, reaching 18,100 so far in 2025.
LABOUR’S ‘SMASH THE GANGS’ IN TATTERS
Philp declared: “Labour has completely lost control of our borders. Their pledge to smash gangs in tatters. They scrapped the Rwanda deterrent before it even began and now the boats won’t stop coming.
2025 is on track to be the worst year in history for illegal Channel crossings, and the Prime Minister is left scrambling”, he added in a scathing opinion piece.
The Home Office insisted: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
WHAT THE DEAL MEANS
Under the Brexit reset agreement announced last month:
- EU boats get fishing access to UK waters extended from 2026 to 2038
- The deal is three times longer than the government originally wanted
- Scotland’s fishing industry faces what leaders call the “biggest act of betrayal”
- No caps or time limits on youth mobility schemes have been confirmed
- Fears grow of freedom of movement returning “by the backdoor
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE
2025 Channel Crossings:
- 14,811 migrants arrived (as of June 1)
- 42% increase on same period last year
- 1,194 arrived on Saturday alone (record for 2025)
- 38% French interception rate (down from 45% in 2024)
Economic Impact:
- Britain pays France approximately £500,000 daily for border enforcement
- Hotel costs for asylum seekers: £8 million per day
- Annual cost of small boats crisis: £3.5 billion (Policy Exchange estimate)
COMMONS SHOWDOWN LOOMS
Philp is set to confront Labour ministers in Parliament today, demanding immediate action to link the fishing agreement to French cooperation on border security.
The shadow home secretary will challenge the government to explain why British fishing communities should be “sold out” while French authorities fail to prevent dangerous Channel crossings.
As France has agreed to change its rules so police can prevent people in the water from getting on to boats, but this has not yet come into effect, pressure is mounting on both governments to act before more lives are lost at sea.
A Home Office source said: “We have developed strong co-operation with the French and it is important that they have agreed to disrupt these boats once they’re in the water – and not just on the shore”.
But with crossings at record levels and French cooperation failing, the question remains: How many more must risk their lives before real action is taken?
Image credit: Chris Philp MP official portrait, 2024 by UK Parliament, licensed under CC BY 3.0.
