Sir Keir Starmer defended his farcical migrant deal with France as new analysis revealed the scale of Labour’s failure. The Prime Minister is the quickest to reach the milestone of 60,000 arrivals, surging past it in 475 days.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak was booted out of office with a total of 50,637 in 618 days. It took Boris Johnson 1,125 days to reach the 60,000 total, Daily Express analysis reveals. The alarming assessment comes as Sir Keir tried to defend his deal after a migrant made a mockery of his scheme.
The Prime Minister insisted the Iranian asylum seeker who returned to the UK after being deported to France made a “completely pointless” small boat crossing.
But Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Daily Express: “This is yet another pathetic Labour gimmick which is falling apart already.
“Starmer is clearly totally out of his depth.
“First, they said they would smash the gangs.
“When that didn’t work, they then said they would return a few illegal immigrants to France.
“But they have returned only 42 people.
“So that’s no deterrent at all.
“Now, one of them has come back and has concocted a modern slavery claim, clearly written by a lawyer in an attempt to stay.
“No wonder the first nine months of this year were the worst in history and for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel, and Labour has let in 60,000 since the election already.”
The Iranian asylum seeker originally arrived on a dinghy on August 6 and was deported to France on September 19.
But he fled from a migrant shelter in Paris and crossed the Channel on another boat to the UK. He arrived in Britain on Saturday, where he was detained by border officers.
He was identified by his biometric data.
Asked if the scheme was failing, Sir Keir said: “No, showing that we can and will return people who come by small boats back to France is really important.
“Many governments try to get an agreement like this. We’ve got one, and we are sending people back every week now, so that we’ve shown it’s working, we do need to ramp it up.
“I accept that we need many more people being returned.
“In relation to the person who returned, obviously, what we’ve now got is all of his details in the system.
“He’s shown up, he’s already been detained, and he will now be fast-tracked back to France. So, trying to get back here has been completely pointless.
“He’s already in the system. We know who he is. We’ve got him, and we’re going to get him back out of the country very, very quickly.”
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy echoed the same sentiments.
He said: “Today’s news actually reveals that the individual, who spent thousands of pounds trying to get into this country, can be sent back as a result of his biometric data and that is progress.”
Hopes that the French will begin to intercept migrants at sea are hanging by a thread as the new tactics have been put “on hold”.
The French navy is said to fear an increase in deaths in the Channel.
Sources also warned that political turmoil in France had killed hope of a quick shift in French tactics.
One source said of the promises from Paris: “It’s just a political stunt. It’s much blah-blah.”
Mr Lammy said: “There was a lot of discussion about the use of those tactics and I think it is important that French partners are able to intercept in the right way.”
Peter Walsh, who researches the issue at Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, said: “It’s possible that [the new measures at sea] might never happen.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a newspaper op-ed: “Today’s small boat numbers are shameful, and the British people deserve better.
“They contain a lesson – we must go further and faster to secure our borders.
“The honest truth is that people come to this country because they believe we are more generous than other European countries.
“Rather than stopping at the first safe country, they are continuing their journey here, looking for the best place to become a refugee.
“We will slash the entitlements that refugees receive – to bring us in line with other European countries, ensuring we are no longer the destination of choice.
“We will close every single asylum hotel in the country, and we are exploring replacing them with military bases.”