Shabana Mahmood has hit out at the “utterly unacceptable” number of migrants arriving in the UK in small boats after the number of Channel crossings this year passed 30,000 in record time.
The newly appointed home secretary has been hit immediately with the scale of the crisis she has inherited just 48 hours after taking over from Yvette Cooper.
The worst ever figures recorded in a single year to this point have underlined why Sir Keir Starmer felt he needed a clearout of ministers from the Home Office and a new team put in place, with Labour trailing Reform UK by 10 points in the polls.
The news that the 30,000 mark has been hit earlier in a single year under the Labour government’s watch will only add fuel to Nigel Farage’s push for power as he completed a exuberant party conference in Birmingham over the weekend.
In her first intervention as home secretary, Ms Mahmood vowed to take firm action on immigration after a difficult summer dominated by criticism of the small boats crisis, and will host the so-called Five Eyes security alliance for talks on tackling people smuggling in her first major engagement in her new role.
But the size of the task became clear over the weekend as it emerged that some 1,097 migrants crossed the Channel in 17 boats on Saturday, bringing the total in 2025 so far to 30,100, Home Office figures show.
That is up 37 per cent on this point last year (22,028) and 37 per cent higher than at this stage in 2023 (21,918), according to PA news agency analysis.
It is the earliest point in a calendar year at which the 30,000 mark has been passed since data on Channel crossings was first reported in 2018.
Ms Mahmood said “vile people smugglers” are “wreaking havoc on our borders” and vowed a returns deal with France will bring the numbers under control.
This week she will host her counterparts from some of Britain’s strongest allies – the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand– to discuss new proposals to smash the smuggling gangs.
The group will also discuss measures to punish those perpetuating child sexual abuse online and how to stop the spread of deadly synthetic opioids, officials said.
It comes amid Ms Mahmood’s wider crackdown on immigration policy, with the new home secretary also expected to set out plans this week to move asylum seekers from hotels into military barracks after a summer of protests over migration.
She is working with the Ministry of Defence to identify sites to house people, with military planners scoping out potential sites, defence secretary John Healey confirmed on Sunday.
Ms Mahmood, who was justice secretary before Sir Keir’s reshuffle, said: “Rebuilding our reputation on the world stage is how we tackle serious organised crime and secure our borders.
“We have already reset our relationship with the EU, struck a people-smuggling deal with the G7 and operationalised a first-of-its-kind returns agreement with France.
“Today, we will agree new measures to protect our borders with our Five Eyes partners, hitting people smugglers hard.
“The Five Eyes might be drawn from different corners of the globe, but we are united by our alliance. As the security threats we all face become more complex and span continents, we are stronger and safer together.”
Ms Cooper became foreign secretary in an emergency cabinet reshuffle on Friday following the resignation of Angela Rayner over her tax affairs.
Sir Keir will be hoping to draw a line under the fallout from his former deputy’s departure as well as a difficult summer dominated by criticism of the small boats crisis.
In her first full day in the job, Ms Mahmood met the head of Scotland Yard on Saturday to receive a briefing on the policing operation in response to Gaza protests in London.
“Supporting Palestine and supporting a proscribed terrorist group are not the same thing,” she said.
“An honour to visit Sir Mark [Rowley] and the Metropolitan Police to see them at work policing protests.”
Almost 900 people were arrested at the central London rally protesting against the banning of Palestine Action as a terror group, the force said earlier.
