'Open season has begun' - 70 migrants crammed into dinghies as 400 cross the Channel
Some 419 asylum seekers crossed the Channel on Tuesday in just six boats, despite wet and windy weather creating dangerous conditions.
Sick Channel migrant smugglers are cramming 70 people into small boats bound for Britain, new Home Office figures have revealed.
Some 419 asylum seekers crossed the Channel on Tuesday in just six boats, despite wet and windy weather creating dangerous conditions.
Another 126 people in three boats were rescued by French authorities and returned to France.
Over 14,000 migrants have now arrived in the UK in dinghies this year.
Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said: "Scrapping Rwanda without a plan was sheer stupidity. Open Season has begun. More and more migrants crammed into boats.
"Smash the gangs"? Sir Keir has surrendered to the people smugglers."
Border Force sources have long warned about the increasing size of the boats being used by smugglers to cross the Channel. The criminals have also begun using "taxi boats", picking migrants up off the beach.
Shadow Home Secretary the Rt Hon James Cleverly MP said:"The illegal migrants who we knew were waiting for a Labour government have got their wish, and at the first break in the weather they have made their move.
"The people smugglers are evil but they aren't stupid. They have seen the first steps taken by this Labour government and moved quickly to cash in, cramming more and more vulnerable people into dangerous small boats.
"Without any deterrent we can sadly only expect to see more of the same in future."
Women and children are among those being brought to shore today (Wednesday).
Mr Cleverly said new Prime Minister Keir Starmer had erected a “huge ‘open’ sign on the white cliffs of Dover” after axing the Rwanda deportation scheme and allowing Channel migrants to claim asylum.
Mr Cleverly declared that the Labour Government is “too scared to be tough on migration”.
He told the Daily Express: "Labour granted an amnesty in 2003, and now they're teeing up to do it again. The people smugglers will be rubbing their hands with glee.
Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel told the Daily Express: “Within days of coming to power Labour have already opened up our borders, defying the wishes of the British people.
“This reckless decision has given those who make dangerous and illegal crossings the hope and opportunity to stay in the UK and the chance to jump the queue over those who have come through safe legal routes.
“The evil criminal gangs we have spent years fighting have now been given a licence to print money and put more lives at risk by Labour.
“Having opposed the tough measures we put in place to secure our borders, scrapped the deterrent from our Rwanda partnership, voted against life sentences for people smugglers and campaigned against deporting foreign national offenders, it's clear that Labour cannot be trusted to keep our country safe and our borders secure.”
Sir Keir declared the Rwanda deportation scheme “dead and buried before it started”, insisting it had “never been a deterrent” to those hoping to cross the Channel.
But the UK is not going to receive a penny back from Kigali, it emerged on Tuesday.
The Labour Government wants to establish a new Border Security Command to hunt the smuggling gangs operating across Europe.
More British investigators and spies will be based in Europe to hunt down the criminals.
Sources have told the Daily Express that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s team is hoping MI5 intelligence officers will treat people smugglers like foreign spies and terrorists.
This could see them bug smugglers' phones and trace their movements, this newspaper understands.
Ms Cooper has ordered the review into how the gangs operate because she believes there are more opportunities to disrupt the gangs.
Intelligence has been gathered on how the gangs operate, where they are based, the routes they take and how they communicate with migrants hoping to cross the Channel.
And utilising this information could give MI5 and the National Crime Agency more opportunities to infiltrate or disrupt the gangs before they reach the French coast.
Counter-terror powers will also be extended to cover organised immigration crime, including the power to search people suspected of being involved in people smuggling, close bank accounts, restrict their travel and trace their movements before an offence has taken place.
New legislation is being drawn up, the Home Office confirmed on Sunday night.
