Keir Starmer told to recall Parliament over migrant 'emergency' as crossings soar over 25k

Sir Keir Starmer must recall Parliament to discuss the Channel migrant "emergency" after the number of arrivals surged past 25,000 in record time, critics declared. Some 898 asylum seekers were intercepted on 13 boats on Wednesday - an average of 70 people per dinghy.

It takes the total so far this year to 25,436 in 432 boats - the first time the milestone has been reached in July. And the Daily Express can reveal frustration is beginning to boil over among seafarers navigating the Channel. An exasperated P&O Ferries captain asked a French navy vessel: "Is that the same dinghy we reported when it was on the beach in Calais about two hours ago?"

It came after the ship was asked to alter its course as the French vessel shadowed a migrant dinghy across the Channel.

The French captain responded: "Yes, it may be the same, yes."

Ministers were on Thursday warned "our border crisis is worse than ever" and "this is now a national emergency".

Border Force were overwhelmed by smugglers launching waves of dinghies destined for the UK on Wednesday. Lifeboat crews were scrambled to intercept some of those crossing amid "chaotic" scenes in the Dover Strait.

Former minister Esther McVey told the Daily Express: "The British public's high levels of tolerance have been pushed to breaking point and they see a political class who seem unaware of the anger and fear there is in the local community.

"This is a national emergency and MPs should be seeking urgent solutions and action rather than taking a summer vacation - leaving the people we represent in the lurch.

"The public will not take much more of this and MPs need to be recalled to Parliament to sort out this mess once and for all."

The shocking annual toll this year equates to 120 arrivals every day - or one every 12 minutes.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: "A record 25,000 illegal immigrants have crossed into Britain under Starmer's watch so far this year.

"By scrapping the Rwanda deterrent, Starmer might as well have put up a big neon welcome sign on the cliffs of Dover."

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said on Thursday: "Almost 900 people crossed the Channel yesterday, meaning 25,000 people, mainly young men, have crossed the Channel this year.

"2025 is the worst year on record so far and the Labour Government are doing nothing to stop the crossings. This is now a national emergency.

"Their 17 in, one out deal with France will not even make a dent - it would take 10 years for Yvette Cooper to deport the illegal immigrants that have arrived since the start of this year alone under her so-called deal which still hasn't started.

"The Conservative Party's Deportation Bill would bring this circus to an end. We would detain illegal arrivals on the spot, deport them without delay. If the ECHR stands in our way, we will leave it."

Reform UK MP Lee Anderson said: "The numbers speak for themselves, Labour has let this country down on a massive scale.

"Our border crisis is worse than ever, fuelling record levels of crime and costing taxpayers tens of billions each year.

"No country can sustain waves of unvetted, fighting-age males draining public services and filling our luxury hotels.

"The solution is simple: leave the ECHR, declare the border a national emergency, and deport every single person who has entered this country illegally. Only Reform will do it."

Another 94 were rescued by French authorities after getting into difficulty during their crossing attempts and taken back to France.

But officials revealed a boat taking on water was allowed to continue to British waters despite dozens on board pleading for help.

The dinghy left Le Touquet and 36 asylum seekers begged to be taken off.

The other passengers refused to let the French take them back to shore.

In a statement, Préfecture maritime de la Manche et de la mer du Nord, whuch co-ordinates French operations, said: "During certain rescue operations, some of the migrants on board a boat refuse to be rescued by French resources.

"In this configuration, given the structural fragility of the boats, systematically overloaded, and the risks incurred by the migrants if the boat were to break up (falling overboard, thermal shock, various traumas), the choice was made not to force them to board the State rescue resources and to let them continue their journey."

The number of boats carrying 80 or more people has spiked in the past six months.

Home Office sources have revealed more than 50 dinghies have been detected since April 2024 with more than 80 asylum seekers onboard.

More than a third of those have arrived in the past two months,

By contrast, five years ago the dinghies typically had about 15 on board, sources said, and smugglers have been driven by greed to cram more people on amid helpful calmer seas.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "If you storm a boat, trampling over the bodies of tiny children, you are complicit in putting other people in danger.

"We won't stand by as lives are put at risk and our border security is so badly undermined. That is why we are making it much easier to prosecute those who act in this callous and dangerous way.'

"Vile people smugglers are increasingly cramming more and more people into these flimsy boats to inflate their profits with no regard for the lives they put at risk. Women and children are put into the centre of the boats where we have even seen people crushed to death."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "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 and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.

"That is why this government has put together a serious plan to take down these networks at every stage.

"Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs whilst strengthening the security of our borders."