Reform UK leader erupts as migrant arrivals hit record high for this point in the year
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (Image: Getty)
Nigel Farage issued a warning over small boats as the number of arrivals so far this year hit a record 20,000. The Reform UK leader said even more migrants will make the dangerous Channel crossing “if we continue to give them everything when they arrive”.
Mr Farage took to X after reports that the milestone was passed in the early hours of this morning. The Clacton MP said: “This morning marked 20,000 people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats this year.
“It is a record and will only increase if we continue to give them everything when they arrive.”
The 20,000 total is a record high for this point in the year.
It comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to crack down on people smuggling gangs in a bid to get a grip on the issue.
The UK and France are expected to announce a one in, one out migrant returns deal.
Plans for a pilot could be revealed this week or later in the summer, according to the Times.
The agreement could see migrants who arrive in the UK by crossing the English Channel in small boats returned to France, while the UK would accept those with legitimate claims to join family already in the country.
French officials have also agreed to changes that would allow police patrolling the coast to take action in the sea when migrants climb into boats from the water.
But Tory shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “We pay the French half a billion pounds to wave the boats off from Calais, and in return we get a migrant merry-go-round where the same number still come here.
“The French are failing to stop the boats at sea, failing to return them like the Belgians do, and now instead of demanding real enforcement, Labour are trying a ‘one in, one out’ gimmick.”
