Sir Keir Starmer’s small boats record is officially worse than any of his predecessors, GB News can exclusively reveal.
More than 65,870 small boat migrants have completed the perilous 21-mile journey in Sir Keir’s first 19 months in power.
Sir Keir’s total surpassed Boris Johnson’s 65,815 figure in almost half the amount of time, with the former Tory leader needing 39 months in No10 to reach the grim milestone.
More than 41,474 crossed in 2025 alone, with an extra 23,469 migrants arriving on British shores during Sir Keir’s first six months in power.
Despite sub-zero temperatures in Calais and Dover earlier this month, GB News’s provisional figures show that more than 800 have already crossed in 2026, including 273 today.
The milestone moment came shortly after 3.45pm, when Border Force vessel Volunteer arrived into Dover with 65 migrants on board.
Sir Keir’s 65,874 total roughly equates to 117 new arrivals per day, more than double Mr Johnson’s average of 58.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak’s 50,420 figure across 22 months averages out at just 81 per day.
Sir Keir’s grim accolade sparked widespread condemnation from former Home Office migration tsars.
Sir Keir Starmer beat Boris Johnson’s 39 month total in half the time
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Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick, who resigned as Migration Minister under Rishi Sunak after warning the Rwanda plan “does not go far enough”, told GB News: “Starmer has given the country a masterclass in how not to secure our borders. The damage caused by his failure to Brits across the country is unforgivable.
“We must detain and deport illegal migrants immediately – which is what I fought for in Government and resigned over. That will only be possible once we have left the ECHR.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp added: “Keir Starmer has thrown open the border and rolled out the welcome mat for illegal immigrants.
“He doesn’t have the backbone to confront the consequences of his own choices.
Sir Keir Starmer’s recorded more than 65,000 illegal arrivals via small boat since winning power in July 2024
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“This is what happens when a Government only removes five per cent of arrivals and waves the rest into taxpayer-funded hotels.
“As long as the ECHR sits at the heart of this system, the crossings will keep coming and the numbers will keep climbing.”
Kevin Foster, who served alongside Mr Philp in the Home Office, also said: “Keir Starmer said he would ‘smash the gangs’, instead he is smashing records for small boat arrivals.
“The Government needs a new strategy, rather than a new slogan, one which includes a third country option like Rwanda and learns lessons from how the United States of America has seen a massive fall in the numbers illegally crossing its Southern Border in the last year since President Trump took office.”
The total number of migrants who have crossed the Channel has now exceeded 195,000
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However, Labour has made tackling the small boats crisis a top priority since winning the 2024 General Election.
Ahead of his landslide victory, Sir Keir slammed the Rwanda scheme as a “gimmick” and vowed to reinvest the money into a new Border Security Command force.
The Home Office also introduced expanded powers to use counter-terror tactics to disrupt smuggling gangs and seize mobile phones from those suspected of crossing the Channel.
A record-breaking 17,400 illegal worker raids have also taken place since Labour came to power in July 2024, resulting in more than 12,300 arrests.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood hailed Labour’s “one-in, one-out” deal with France as a key deterrent to curb crossings, with reforms to the asylum system also rolled out to dissuade migrants from making the 21-mile journey.
GB News revealed a fresh wave of migrants arrived on British shores on January 5
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The UK has so far removed 193 migrants and accepted 195 migrants under its deal with France.
However, there is little evidence the pilot scheme is deterring fresh arrivals, with more than 16,000 crossing the Channel in its first six months.
Labour has also been accused of a “sleight of hand” after Reform UK policy chief Zia Yusuf claimed last month that just 2,700 small boat migrants had been returned out of the 50,000 enforced and voluntary removals touted by the Home Office.
Speaking at the 2025 Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, the Prime Minister even looked to put pressure on his rivals over who is to blame for the migrant crisis.
Last year’s total was the second worst 12 month period on record, missing out on top spot to 2022
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Sir Keir described labelled dinghies crossing the Channel the “Farage boats” in reference to Brexit removing the UK from the often inefficient Dublin Convention.
Centre for Migration Control’s research director, Rob Bates, also appeared to turn Sir Keir’s criticisms about Mr Farage back onto himself.
“These are now officially the ‘Starmer boats’,” Mr Bates told GB News.
“The Channel crisis has only worsened under this Labour Government, with all available data showing that the situation has rapidly deteriorated since July 2024.
“There is a desperate need for a strong deterrent that dissuades people from making these crossings.
Boris Johnson no longer registers the most illegal crossings as Prime Minister
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“The British public no longer has any patience for gimmicks and half-measures.”
Despite Sir Keir surpassing Mr Johnson’s total, the Prime Minister’s daily average fares better than Liz Truss’s, with more than 10,000 arrivals in just 49 days equating to 212 during her short stint in No10.
Meanwhile, Theresa May averaged less than one arrival per day after just over 1,000 crossed during her 36 months as Prime Minister.
However, the total number of arrivals since the start of the Channel crossing crisis in 2018 now stands at 195,200, roughly equal to the population of York.
GB News has approached the Home Office for comment.