The number of illegal migrants who broke into Britain via small boat under Labour’s watch now outnumber the entire British Army.
On Wednesday, 781 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel – the worst day recorded since Andy Burnham replaced Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
The crossings took the number of small boat arrivals since Labour stormed to victory in the 2024 General Election to 83,279.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has now raised the alarm after the figure surpassed the British Army’s 83,000 soldiers.
The Conservative frontbencher said: “Labour has let an entire army-sized population cross the Channel illegally.”
Under the Tories, around 128,000 migrants arrived in Britain via small boat.
“More people have arrived in small boats than we have soldiers defending Britain. That is completely bonkers,” he raged.
“The Conservative plan is to end hotels and benefits for illegal immigrants and instead deport them.”
Nigel Farage has described the alarming number of small boat migrants who successfully broke into Britain this week as “a national emergency”.
Some 83,297 migrants have arrived in the UK via small boat crossings since the Labour Party took power in 2024
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‘Labour has let an entire army-sized population cross the Channel,’ Chris Philp said
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Writing in the Mail, the Reform UK leader said: “It is utterly insane. And if it wasn’t clear before, the events of the past few days have proved beyond any reasonable doubt that both Border Force and the Home Office have completely lost control.”
He continued: “Years ago, I warned the small boats crisis would define this era of British politics. Predictably, the chin-stroking commentariat declared I was exaggerating. Well, look where we are now.
“On a political level, the cost to this country of this weekly invasion has been devastating. Public trust in politicians is at an all-time low, and why wouldn’t it be?
“Ordinary Britons rightly ask if successive governments cannot stop people from arriving illegally in broad daylight, let alone under cover of darkness without detection, then what exactly is the point of having a border?”
His party has pledged to launch the “largest military operation since World War Two” and deploy the Royal Navy to the Channel to end the crisis.
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Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp warned the figure now surpasses the British Army’s 83,000 soldiers
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Nigel Farage described the number of illegal migrants who broke into Britain this week as ‘a national emergency’
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GETTYPeople-smuggling gangs operating across Europe previously told The Telegrapgh that the Iranian regime has helped some migrants in Calais reach Britain on the condition they carry out a “favour” once on British soil.
In 2023, it was reported that nineteen suspected terrorists, affiliated with groups including the Islamic State and al-Shabaab, had entered Britain by crossing the Channel in small boats.
In September, GB News revealed the number of Channel migrants who have crossed into Britain since December 2018 surpassed the total number of active British military personnel and reservists.
Rising to over 181,326 migrants as of September 7, 2025, illegal migrants arriving via small boats exceeded the personnel in the Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force – collectively totalling 180,779.
That number has only risen since.
Migration Watch chairman Alp Mehmet told the People’s Channel: “Military-age men are pouring into Britain across the Channel.”
He added: “Illegal Channel crossings are now a major political crisis, and pose a real and present threat to our national security.”
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