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Burnham vows relentless action
Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged his government would be “relentless” in curbing small boat crossings across the English Channel during a visit to Dover, saying enforcement officers tackling people-smuggling gangs had been doubled on both sides of the Channel.
“pledged his government will be "relentless" in curbing the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats”
Burnham told reporters that “We also need to build a system that offers safe routes for people as well,” arguing that safe routes would take away the “selling point of the gangs.”
The BBC said the Home Office announced the number of National Crime Agency (NCA) officers tackling smuggling gangs facilitating small boat crossings had risen to almost 800 from 376 at the start of 2025, and that Burnham said there had been a similar doubling of French officers.
The BBC also reported that the Home Office said there had been nearly 300 arrests of smuggling gang members last year, and that it had seized more than 1,100 small boats and engines.
Burnham’s comments came as tens of thousands of migrants swam into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta on Thursday, and the BBC reported Burnham said 98% of the people who swam had been returned to Morocco.
Reform’s naval plan
Reform UK said it would deploy the Royal Navy to ward off small boat crossing, and BBC reported Reform UK shadow home secretary Zia Yusuf would order the Navy to force small boats carrying migrants back to France.
The BBC described Reform’s plan as “the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two,” and said international conventions on the sea allow states to pick people up from boats if they are in danger of being lost but do not allow them to be taken to another country without that nation’s consent.
In a separate report, GB News said Reform would launch what it described as the “largest military operation since World War II' to end small boat crossings” if the party wins the next general election.
GB News said the plan, dubbed “Operation Fortress,” would dispatch the Royal Navy to intercept every migrant vessel attempting to cross from France and escort them back to French or Belgian waters.
GB News quoted Zia Yusuf saying “Britain is being invaded,” and he pledged that Farage would “order his Majesty's Royal Navy to ensure that not a single unauthorised vessel crossing the English Channel makes it to the shores of the United Kingdom.”
Ceuta, arrests, and debate
The BBC said political discussions around the UK’s policies on illegal migration had resurfaced after tens of thousands of migrants swam into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta on Thursday, and it reported Burnham said 98% had been returned to Morocco.
“"smashed the gangs as they promised over two years ago"”
The BBC reported that the Home Office said that if the equipment seized by the NCA had been used, it could have helped 72,000 more people come illegally to the UK, while also noting the BBC had been unable to independently verify the claim.
In the same BBC report, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said Labour had not “smashed the gangs as they promised over two years ago,” adding that the Tories would leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) so illegal migrants could be deported within a week of arrival.
The BBC also quoted the Liberal Democrats’ Will Forster calling on the government to “redouble its efforts to rebuild our broken relationship with Europe” and “continue to cut down on the asylum backlog.”
Meanwhile, the Sun framed the border deals as a cost to UK taxpayers, saying Britain has been billed an estimated £8,000 for every migrant they actually stop, and it quoted Robert Bates saying “The French are laughing at us.”
