Prime Minister Andy Burnham has presided over the arrival of at least 10,000 illegal boat migrants crossing the English Channel since assuming power in July, according to new analysis that has reignited debate over Britain’s border security.
GB News calculated that 10,139 migrants have successfully reached UK shores by illegally crossing from France since Burnham took office following a Westminster power transition. The broadcaster’s analysis found that Burnham is averaging 97.5 illegal boat migrant arrivals per day.
That daily average exceeds the rates recorded under his Conservative predecessors Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Rishi Sunak. The figure falls just below former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s average of 103.6 daily arrivals, according to GB News. Starmer reportedly allowed at least 77,183 illegal boat migrants into the country before being removed from office by Burnham.
Labour Government Defends Record
The Labour government has pointed to year-over-year comparisons to defend its handling of Channel crossings. Officials note that illegal arrivals currently stand at 22,608 compared to 36,954 at the same point last year, representing a significant decrease.
However, the broader picture tells a different story. Since Labour took power in 2024, the party has overseen the arrival of 87,259 illegal boat migrants. That figure compares to 127,896 during the preceding six years of Conservative governance.
A Home Office spokesman recently defended the government’s approach, stating that crossings are down significantly and that summer arrivals hit their lowest level since 2020. The spokesman highlighted joint efforts with international partners that have “prevented over 50,000 crossing attempts and seized 1,100 boats and engines since the election.”
Reform UK Pushes Back
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage seized on the recent surge in arrivals to criticize the government’s border policies. Citing economists’ estimates that each illegal migrant will cost British taxpayers £330,000 during their lifetimes, Farage calculated the fiscal impact of recent crossings.
“Over 1,200 illegal migrants have broken into Britain since Thursday,” Farage said. “So, our lack of borders since Thursday will cost us roughly around £396 million.”
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s Shadow Home Secretary and the party’s point person on immigration policy ahead of the next general election, reiterated Reform’s pledge to deport all illegal migrants allowed into the country under both Conservative and Labour governments. Yusuf also committed that a Reform government would deploy the Royal Navy to the English Channel “so that not one more makes it to our shores.”
The entrepreneur-turned-politician warned that the number of arrivals in just the past four days represented “a battalion’s worth of military-age men arriving on our beaches.” He raised concerns about security vetting, noting that the government has no way of knowing whether terrorists or other dangerous individuals are among those arriving.
Ongoing Border Challenge
The Channel crossing crisis has vexed successive British governments for years, with no administration successfully stemming the flow of migrants making the dangerous journey from French beaches. The issue has become a political flashpoint, with opposition parties using arrival figures to challenge government competence on border security.
The Home Office emphasized that the government is taking steps to address the problem by “boosting the number of officers on the ground in France and removing the pull factors drawing people here through illegal and dangerous routes.” Officials acknowledged, however, that “we must go further” in tackling the small boats issue.
The debate over Channel crossings intersects with broader questions about Britain’s immigration system, asylum policy, and border enforcement capabilities. With Reform UK gaining political traction on hardline immigration positions and the government facing criticism from multiple directions, the issue appears likely to remain a contentious topic in British politics for the foreseeable future.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2026/11/02/more-than-10000-illegal-boat-migrants-arrived-since-pm-burnham-took-power-report/