Andy Burnham blames Brexit for failure to cease Channel migrant boats and blasts ‘un-British’ demos

Andy Burnham today blamed Brexit for the failure to stop Channel migrant boats reaching Britain. 

The Prime Minister said the UK’s decision to leave the EU had led to a ‘loss of collaboration with neighbours’ on migration as he faced criticism over a recent wave of arrivals.

Although the overall number of people making it to the UK this year is down on the same time in 2025, some 781 migrants came ashore on Wednesday – the highest daily tally this year.

It pushed the total since the General Election to 83,279, which the Tories pointed out was higher than the British Army’s strength of 83,000 soldiers.

Tackled over the numbers on a round of regional TV interviews today, Mr Burnham distanced himself from Education Secretary Lucy Powell, who this week said Labour could not stop every boat. 

The PM insisted this was his goal but added: ‘I do point to the loss of collaboration with neighbours that came with Brexit. That hasn’t helped. 

‘We had a more… co-operative system, if you like, in the past, so we are not able to have the same levels of collaboration that we used to have.

‘But I don’t put that forward as a reason why we won’t keep working until we get the crossings right down. That is our goal, that we don’t want to see any crossings at all.’

His stance echoes that of his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer. But it appears to put him at odds with his own Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who in February said Brexit was not to blame for the boats.

She told MPs: ‘I’m sure there’s lots of other debates to be had about the rights and wrongs of Brexit.

‘But is Brexit responsible for the boats? I don’t think that’s true.’ 

Responding to Mr Burnham’s interviews, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: ‘This is total nonsense. Andy Burnham is gaslighting us all to hide his own failures, with over 1,000 illegal immigrants coming in this week alone.

‘Under the previous Dublin arrangements in the EU, we only ever sent a handful of people back to Europe, and in fact received more than we sent. 

‘While in Dublin, removals only amounted to a tiny fraction of small boat arrivals. Other European countries are still in the Dublin scheme, and it hasn’t helped Germany, France or even Ireland with their illegal migration problems. Andy Burnham is not telling the truth.’

Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage said: ‘Before Brexit we had agreements that meant that we took more people than we sent back. Burnham is clearly clueless on policy detail.

‘Many people voted for Brexit because the British public wanted to control our borders.

‘Successive governments have betrayed that, and Burnham will clearly be no different.’

Mr Burnham also used the interviews to hit out at anti-migrant demonstrations by black-clad extremists, saying they were ‘not the British way’.

The Prime Minister said that protests by masked extremists went far beyond expressing concerns about immigration and ‘needs to be seen as such, and dealt with as such’ by police.

He spoke out after anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas – known to his supporters as Danny Tommo – pleaded not guilty to criminal damage after he allegedly slashed a boat in the English Channel while an emergency responder was on board.

The 37-year-old, of no fixed address, appeared via videolink at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court today and also denied failing to disclose the PIN to his phone to police, under Section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Asked about the wave of protests in Dover, Portsmouth and last night in Basingstoke, Mr Burnham said they were ‘designed to intimidate, and create a feeling on British streets of the kind that we don’t accept’.

‘That’s not the British way, as far as I’m concerned,’ he said.

‘People should be able to go about their lives, live in their communities without having a feeling of fear about people coming in, to cause unrest and cause provocation.’