"People want to see this issue addressed."
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged his government will be “relentless” in tackling small boat crossings, saying a strengthened crackdown on people-smuggling gangs is already delivering results.
Speaking in Dover, Burnham said the government had “changed the whole approach” by significantly increasing enforcement efforts on both sides of the Channel while insisting that safe and legal routes must remain part of the UK’s immigration system.
His comments came after the Home Office announced that the number of National Crime Agency (NCA) officers targeting smuggling gangs involved in small boat crossings has increased from 376 at the start of 2025 to almost 800.
Burnham said French authorities had also doubled the number of officers involved in tackling the criminal networks behind the crossings.
He said: “People want to see this issue addressed.
“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.”
The Prime Minister said the government was focused on solving the problem rather than using it for political gain.
He said: “Deal with the issue rather than play politics with the issue.
“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.”
The renewed focus on migration comes after thousands of migrants swam into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta on July 30, prompting fresh debate over European border security.
Burnham pointed out that 98% of those who reached the territory had been returned to Morocco, describing it as an effective response to the immediate situation.
However, he suggested wider discussions with European partners would still be necessary.
He said: “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.”
The Home Office also revealed that nearly 300 suspected people-smuggling gang members were arrested in 2025.
Authorities also seized more than 1,100 boats and engines that they say could have been used to facilitate illegal crossings.
The department claimed the equipment could have helped around 72,000 additional people enter the UK illegally if it had not been confiscated.
Andy Burnham welcomed the progress but stressed further work was needed.
He said: “Clearly, progress is being made, but we’re not complacent.”
The debate over migration has also prompted renewed criticism and competing proposals from opposition parties.
Reform UK shadow home secretary Zia Yusuf said his party would order the Royal Navy to intercept and return small boats carrying migrants to France if it entered government.
He described the proposal as “the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two” and said it had been endorsed by “former senior members of our armed forces”.
Yusuf acknowledged the policy could create “a diplomatic argument” with France if migrants were refused entry but argued French authorities have a “commitment under international law” to process them.
However, retired Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe questioned the proposal.
He said: “We have the Border Force already to do this.”
Sharpe added that warships designed for anti-submarine operations “are not best used for ferrying people around”.
A Labour Party spokesperson dismissed Reform UK’s proposal, calling it a “desperate bid” to distract from scrutiny of the party’s finances.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp also criticised the government’s approach, renewing Conservative calls for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights.
He said: “That would enable us to deport every single illegal immigrant within a week of arrival.
“Either back to their country of origin if possible, or a safe third country, for example Rwanda, if not.”
Philp argued this would create a “deterrent effect” because migrants would know they would be removed immediately after arriving.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat immigration and asylum spokesman Will Forster said ministers should “redouble its efforts to rebuild our broken relationship with Europe” and “continue to cut down on the asylum backlog”.
The latest figures show more than 2,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats since Burnham became Prime Minister two weeks ago, including 326 people who arrived on Saturday.
Crossings typically increase during the summer months because of calmer weather conditions.
Home Office data shows small boat arrivals this year are around 43% lower than during the same period in 2025.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics in May showed net migration fell to 171,000 last year, its lowest level since 2012.
The decline has largely been attributed to fewer people arriving from outside the European Union for work and study.
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