Labour minister makes huge admission on Channel migrant crisis and lack of control

Shabana Mahmood will sensationally admit ministers are struggling to stop Channel migrant crossings as Labour hunts for answers.

The Home Secretary, hosting the Western Balkans Interior Ministers meeting, is set to warn that illegal migration is eroding trust in politicians and the "state itself".

She will say the public "rightly expect" the Government "to determine who enters their country".

But "today, in this country... that is not the case", Ms Mahmood is expected to say.

Sources close to the Home Secretary stressed Ms Mahmood is willing to do "whatever it takes" to end the crisis, including the abuses of the legal system which are preventing foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers from being deported.

More than 1,000 boats have now made the crossing since Labour came into power in July 2024 with 59,607 people picked up since Sir Keir Starmer took office.

And Ms Mahmood will defend Labour's approach to forging closer ties with European allies, insisting "illegal migration is a shared threat which requires a strong, joined-up response".

More than 20,000 migrants are believed to have been smuggled through the Western Balkans last year. It is also a vital route for boats, engines and drugs.

And ministers will on Wednesday hope to secure more agreements on tackling criminal supply chains through the region, as well as fresh efforts to improve border security across Europe.

The Home Secretary will say: "The public rightly expect that their government will be able to determine who enters their country, and who must leave.

"Today, in this country, and I know in many if not all of yours, that is not the case.

"And the failure to bring order to our borders is eroding trust not just in us as political leaders... But in the credibility of the state itself."

Addressing Nigel Farage's vow to quit the European Convention on Human Convention and leave the 1951 Refugee Convention, Ms Mahmood will say: "Illegal migration is a shared threat which requires a strong, joined-up international response.

"To those who think the answer to the challenges that we face is to turn inwards, or back away from international cooperation, I say that in coming together as we are today we will make all of our borders and our countries stronger.

"I am proud that the UK is leading the charge on a coordinated response to tackle organised crime and take down the vile people-smuggling gangs who put the value of human lives behind their own profits."

More than 36,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, heaping huge pressure on ministers after their repeated promises to "smash the gangs".

Home Office sources said the UK will "use the global reach and expertise of the National Crime Agency" to help "break the business model of organised crime groups and prevent the trafficking of drugs to UK streets."

Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt will on Wednesday lead a session on strengthening border security in the Western Balkans to tackle illegal migration and smuggling gangs.

And the Director General of the National Crime Agency, Graeme Biggar, will join Ms Mahmood on a panel to discuss how to break criminal supply chains.

Smugglers are cramming migrants into bigger and bigger boats to maximise their profits.

The crisis is fuelling fears of further tragedies in the Channel.

At least 20 people are feared to have died this year after attempting to cross in a small boat.

A staggering 89 migrants were rescued crammed into one dinghy in the English Channel on Sunday.

It comes after 125 people were reportedly picked in a single super dinghy on September 27 trying to make the treacherous voyage from France.

On Sunday and Monday this week a total of 121 people made the crossing in two boats - 89 on Sunday and 32 in a single boat on Monday.

The total to arrive so far this year has already reached 36,365 migrant - just 451 short of the 36,816 who arrived in the whole of 2024.