The number of small-boat migrants arriving in Britain since Labour came to power has risen to 83,279, surpassing the stated strength of the British Army.
The total, which covers arrivals since the general election, passed 83,000 after 781 migrants reached the UK on Wednesday – the highest daily figure recorded this year.
Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, said: “Labour has let an entire army-sized population cross the Channel illegally.”
He added: “More people have arrived in small boats than we have soldiers defending Britain. That is completely bonkers.”
Mr Philp accused the Government of having “lost control of our borders” and said the Conservative plan was to end hotels and benefits for illegal immigrants and deport them.
Small-boat migrant arrivals rise amid scrutiny of Border Force
Wednesday’s arrivals exceeded the previous 2026 high of 752, recorded on July 29. A total of 1,085 migrants reached Britain in the first three days of the week, with further arrivals reported on Thursday but not yet officially confirmed.
The figures came as concerns grew over two boats reaching the Kent coast without being intercepted by Border Force. One dinghy, carrying up to 30 people, reached a beach on Tuesday before police arrived.
Officials said 21 people were detained and taken to a Home Office facility to be processed ahead of lodging asylum claims. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered an urgent review into how the boats crossed the Channel unchallenged.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell said the Government “can’t stop everything all of the time”, while acknowledging that the incidents were a concern.
“That’s why the Home Secretary has demanded and ordered this urgent review, because this is not what we want to see,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “This is not acceptable.”
The Border Force union ISU said boats were “definitely” arriving undetected along the full length of the south coast. Lucy Moreton, from the union, said there had been reports of uncontrolled landings as far west as Falmouth.
Ms Moreton accused the Home Office of taking the position that if officials did not look for the boats, they did not have to deal with them.
A former senior Home Office civil servant said the entire south coast should be monitored, rather than concentrating surveillance on the narrowest part of the Channel near Dover.
Former Border Force director general Tony Smith said radar, drones and other surveillance technology were available but “clearly, it didn’t work on this particular occasion”.
He suggested that people arriving on beaches might be seeking to evade capture and biometric checks which could identify a criminal record or a previous illegal arrival.
The Government said crossings were down by 42 per cent this year and that the summer months had seen the lowest recorded figures since 2020.
A spokesman said: “But this week’s events show that while the peaks we are seeing are far below those of previous years, we need to push further and harder in order to eradicate this vile trade.”
