Two senior MPs have slammed French authorities and have accused the France of “aiding and abetting” migrants to cross the English Channel.
The Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick and Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp have been in Calias following the news that more than 50,000 migrants have illegally come to the UK under Keir Starmer’s watch.
Philp wrote on social media, “I’m heading to France right now to find out more about what’s happening on the ground with the illegal migration crisis, following my observations at sea on the channel last week.”
Jenrick wrote, “I’ve just spent 48 hours in northern France. It’s sickening.
“It’s a disgrace. The French are aiding and abetting small boat migrants coming into the UK.
0:700am on the beach by the power plant
The embarkation on the left happened yesterday – a frequent occurrence here
You would have expected regular police patrols to ensure there is no repeat
The video shows what patrolling was happening on the beach this morning pic.twitter.com/0VKTMbhGsP
— Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) August 13, 2025
The Tory leader Kemi Badenoch also hit out at Starmer’s government as they promised to “smash the criminal boat gangs” as part of the manifesto which has been branded as it was simply “just a slogan,” adding that the migrant crossings are now a lot more “worse.”
The former home secretary Baroness Smith, who is now an education and women and equalities minister, told the BBC, “Criminal gangs have got an absolute foothold in the tragic trafficking of people across the Channel.
It is an unacceptable number of people.”
