The number of migrants crossing the Channel has doubled under Labour, shocking analysis reveals.
Some 32,900 asylum seekers have arrived in small boats this year, prompting fears the annual total could hit 40,000.
A staggering 19,326 have crossed since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister in July – an average of 150 a day.
This is compared to an average of 74 per day in the 184 days before the General Election.
But analysis by this newspaper also shows 272 boats crossed the Channel, carrying 13,574 people, between January 1 and July 4.
This means an average of 49 migrants were crammed onto each of these boats. Since the General Election, this has increased to 55 people per boat under Labour.
Some 209 asylum seekers crossed the Channel on Sunday, taking the yearly total to 32,900.
This followed 572 arriving in nine boats on Saturday.
One maritime security source warned criminal gangs are “prepared to push small boats outs into the water whenever it’s just about manageable”.
He added: “October was the busiest month on record since October 2022.
“A year back, we weren’t really seeing as many attempts to launch boats when the weather in the Channel was poor.
“And that’s now being reflected in the significantly increased number of small boat rescues and migrant deaths.”
Sir Keir’s plan to ‘smash the gangs’ is also coming under fire from within the Home Office, it has been claimed.
Officials are said to be concerned the smugglers will adapt and that additional law enforcement activities will require political will.
The Prime Minister, opening the Interpol General Assembly in Glasgow, declared that people smugglers must be treated like terrorists and seen as a global security threat.
He said the “World needs to wake up to the severity” of the migration crisis.
And Sir Keir on Monday told reporters how he wanted Britain to lead EU operations targeting smuggling gangs on the continent, due to this nation’s “rich” intelligence and law-enforcement expertise.
The Labour leader told global leaders “we’ve got to combine resources, share intelligence and tactics, and tackle the problem upstream, working together to shut down the smuggling routes.”
And the PM on Thursday signed new agreements to intercept criminal gangs smuggling migrants through the Western Balkans as part of efforts to bring down small boat crossings.
He announced deals to boost intelligence sharing, expertise and co-operation with Serbia, North Macedonia and Kosovo at a meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary, on Thursday.
One Home Office official said of the Government’s plans: “It will not bring the crossings down – the smugglers will adapt and circumvent anything they put in place.
On Starmer’s small boats plan, another Home Office source told i: “It’s fine for us to talk about targeting smugglers in the UK, but there are a lot of people in Europe who have to get involved. “There are clearly political reasons about why they want to look tough on all this, but what is the impact actually going to be on the number of people arriving in the UK?”
A Home Office spokesperson said previously: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.”
