Andy Burnham blames Brexit for why migrants are nonetheless crossing the Channel

Prime Minister Andy Burnham claimed there has been a ‘loss of collaboration with neighbours’ since the UK left the European Union, after another tough week for the Home Office over crossings

Brexit has hampered the Government’s ability to stop migrants crossing the Channel in inflatable dinghies, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said.

Mr Burnham said there has been a “loss of collaboration with neighbours” since the UK left the European Union. It comes after a challenging week for the Home Office which saw more than 700 people arrived in the UK on Wednesday, and two vessels landing undetected on British shores within two days.

But the overall number of crossings this year (18,609) is down 42% on this time last year (32,188), and 26% below the figure at this stage in 2024 (25,165).

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a three-year £662 million agreement with France in Dunkirk in April. Asked by BBC South East why crossings are still happening, Mr Burnham said: “I do point to the loss of collaboration with neighbours that came with Brexit.

“That hasn’t helped. We had a more cooperative 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. “

He added: “I’m not going to give you a date by which we can do that, or a promise that we will do it, as other governments have done in terms of a particular deadline.

“But what I will say to you is I will not stop nor will the Home Secretary until we bear down every element of this criminal, illegal activity and that we do so in a way that gets the numbers right now.”

The Prime Minister said smuggling gangs are changing their methods after another departure from Normandy. A boat containing 51 migrants spent more than 30 hours at sea this week after setting off from close to the village of Vierville-sur-Mer, west of Bayeux.

Boats rarely set off from so far west in France because of the extra distance to travel across the Channel. “They are changing their tactics but we will be relentless in chasing them down,” he told BBC South East.

“The measures that we’ve taken in relation to small boats are working. They are changing what they’re doing but we then have to change what we’re doing to chasing them.”

Elsewhere, Mr Burnham said turning up to a protest dressed in black and wearing a face covering is “not the British way”. Six people were arrested after anti-migrant protesters gathered at a marina in Gosport, Hampshire on Tuesday night.

Some of the protesters wore black clothing and face coverings, and chanted “send them back”. Earlier this month crowds of masked men blocked road access to the port in Dover.

“I recognise the concern that many people in the public have around immigration. But this is something different”, Mr Burnham told ITV Meridian.

“You don’t take it out on the police. You don’t attack the police. You don’t intimidate the rest of the public. If, you know, you are just expressing a concern. This is a different agenda.

“And it needs to be seen as such, and dealt with as such. But at the same time, addressing the genuine concern of people. I think those who bring this fear to the streets are not, in any way representing the vast majority of people.”

Asked if he condemned protesters wearing black and covering their faces, he said: “I do, because it’s designed to intimidate, and create a feeling on British streets of the kind that we don’t accept.

“Where perhaps in other countries this has been done. But not here. That’s not the British way, as far as I’m concerned. 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.”