Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Britain's wealthier areas should take more asylum seekers as 3,003 migrants arrived in small boats during his first 22 days.
Official Home Office figures confirmed that 230 people were on a record-breaking dinghy on Monday. That brought the total number of arrivals under the new prime minister to 3,003.
The latest figures also pushed the total number of small boat arrivals since Labour took power above 80,000. A total of 80,186 migrants have arrived under Labour since the day after the July 2024 General Election.
By comparison, 2,258 migrants arrived in small boats during Keir Starmer's first 22 days as prime minister. Arrival numbers fluctuate significantly based on weather conditions and tide patterns.
Housing plans and community concerns
When pressed on where asylum seekers will be housed, Burnham said the UK's richest areas must play their part. He was speaking to GB News about a migrant camp being set up near Piddington, a village in Oxfordshire.
Local residents in Piddington fear the camp will overwhelm their settlement. Burnham said he would listen to people and respond to their concerns, though he did not yet know the issue in detail.
Burnham said he is prepared to listen, work with residents, and address their worries. He added that the country cannot have a situation where only the poorest communities receive all dispersed refugees and asylum seekers, saying all parts of the country must work together. He promised to look into the issues raised by the citizens of Piddington.
Burnham also pledged to change tactics against human smuggling gangs crossing the English Channel. Referring to images of Monday's dinghy, he told GB News he knew people were concerned by the pictures. He said the smuggling gangs are changing tactics, so the government will change tactics and pursue them relentlessly. He noted that he made the same commitment when visiting Dover a little over a week ago to change the conversation.
Political backlash and border criticism
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp rejected Burnham's claim to have an effective plan to stop small boats. Philp said Britain faces a full Burnham border crisis, with uncontrolled illegal migrants, mainly young men, crossing the Channel every calm day.
Philp claimed many illegal migrants go on to commit serious crimes, including murder and rape, while costing taxpayers billions. He said Burnham's claim of having a working plan is in tatters.
The Conservative MP added that Burnham is too weak to act. Philp urged him to adopt Conservative plans to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and deport all illegal migrants within one week.
Overloaded boat rescue details
Monday's record arrival came less than two weeks after the prime minister insisted the government's plan was working. The dinghy carried more people than the seating capacity of a Boeing 737 passenger aircraft.
The 15-metre inflatable originally had more than 260 passengers, including children, on board when it nearly sank. It was built for a maximum capacity of 40 people.
Rough waves struck the vessel in the English Channel, knocking at least 30 people overboard. The boat eventually reached Britain carrying 230 people.
A spokesman for the volunteer maritime rescue organisation SNSM, the French equivalent of the RNLI, said migrants hid in sand dunes after paying smugglers for passage. A wave of people then rushed onto the boat, causing people to fall into the water as the vessel continued its course.
Crossing costs and French enforcement
The 15-metre boat was 2.1 metres longer than previous record-setting vessels from last month and more than 3 metres longer than a standard double-decker bus. Human smugglers are believed to charge around 2,000 pounds per person, meaning the voyage could have yielded criminal profits of 450,000 pounds.
Philp described Labour's border response as comical and a complete farce. He criticized Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood for handing 660 million pounds of public funds to France while French authorities passively watch hundreds of migrants board large inflatables on beaches.
Philp also criticized the French gendarmerie's failure to stop such a large vessel. He reiterated that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights and deporting illegal migrants within a week would stop crossings immediately.
Official figures reported by the Daily Mail show that 15,472 migrants have arrived in Britain on small boats so far this year.
