Minister Admits 'Britain Has Lost Control Of Its Borders' As Hundreds Cross Channel

People walk into the sea as they prepare to board a migrant dinghy yesterday in Gravelines, France. The numbers of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats is up roughly 40% on last year. A cabinet minister has admitted “Britain has lost control of its borders” after hundreds more asylum seekers crossed the English Channel.Figures released by the Home Office revealed that 1,194 people made the perilous journey on 18 small boats on Saturday, the highest number for a single day this year.Defence secretary John Healey said it was “pretty shocking” to see footage of French officials doing nothing to stop the migrants getting on board the vessels.He told Sky News: “Britain has lost control of its borders over the last five years, and the last government last year left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration.“I think yesterday tells us a really big problem, which is you’ve got French police unable to intervene and intercept the boats when they’re in shallow waters. We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming round like a taxi to pick them up.”Healey insisted the government had reached an agreement with the French authorities which will see them intervene when the asylum seekers are still in shallow waters in future.“That will help to make a difference to what we saw yesterday,” he said.This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.Related...Starmer Accused Of Dancing To 'Farage's Tune' With Small Boats CrackdownLabour Plan To Deny Small Boat Refugees Citizenship Called 'A Dark Moment In British History'Labour Split Erupts After Asylum Seekers On Small Boats Banned From Becoming UK Citizens

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