Burnham Vows ‘Relentless’ Crackdown On UK Small Boat Crossings

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged that his government will remain “relentless” in tackling illegal migration across the English Channel, saying authorities are intensifying efforts to dismantle people-smuggling networks while maintaining safe and legal migration pathways.

Speaking during a visit to Dover, Burnham said his administration was making progress by adopting a new strategy that focuses on targeting criminal gangs responsible for facilitating small boat crossings.

“People want to see this issue addressed,” Burnham said.

“We are changing the whole approach,” he added, noting that enforcement officers working against people-smuggling gangs on both sides of the English Channel have doubled.

The prime minister also stressed the need to provide lawful alternatives for those seeking protection.

“We also need to build a system that offers safe routes for people as well, because that also takes away the selling point of the gangs,” he said.

His comments come amid renewed debate over illegal migration in Europe following the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants who swam into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta on Thursday.

Burnham said Moroccan authorities had responded swiftly to the incident, noting that about 98 per cent of those who entered Ceuta had been returned.

“There’s a broader issue about the Schengen area and our relationship with it, and of course, I would want to be in regular dialogue with the EU on those issues,” he said.

The remarks followed a Home Office announcement that the number of National Crime Agency (NCA) officers dedicated to tackling smuggling gangs involved in small boat crossings has increased to nearly 800 from 376 at the start of 2025.

Burnham said the number of French officers working on the issue had also doubled.

Asked whether he intended to change the tone of the political debate surrounding illegal migration, the prime minister said his priority was solving the problem rather than exploiting it politically.

“I want to deal with the issue rather than play politics with the issue,” he said.

“The public don’t like the idea that the border looks like it’s not controlled. We need to bring back that control. But also we need to offer support for people who genuinely need it.”

According to the Home Office, nearly 300 members of smuggling gangs were arrested last year, while authorities seized more than 1,100 small boats and engines used for illegal crossings.

The government also claimed that the seized equipment could have facilitated the illegal entry of about 72,000 additional migrants into the UK, although the BBC reported that it had not independently verified the figure.

“Clearly, progress is being made, but we’re not complacent,” Burnham said.

Meanwhile, Reform UK has proposed a tougher approach to illegal migration. The party’s home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, said a Reform-led government would deploy the Royal Navy to intercept and return migrant boats to France.

He described the proposal as “the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two.”

Yusuf acknowledged the plan could trigger diplomatic disagreements with France but argued that French authorities have obligations under international law to process migrants returned to their shores.

Official figures show that more than 2,000 migrants have arrived in the UK on small boats since Burnham assumed office two weeks ago, including 326 people who crossed the English Channel on Saturday.

Despite the recent arrivals, Home Office data indicate that small boat crossings are down by about 43 per cent compared with the same period in 2025.

Small boat crossings have remained the most common method of illegal entry into the UK since 2020, making the issue central to the country’s broader immigration debate.

Separately, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported in May that net migration to the UK fell to 171,000 last year—almost half the level recorded in 2024 and the lowest since 2012. The decline was largely attributed to fewer arrivals from outside the European Union for work and study.