GB News presenter Martin Daubney was left visibly shocked during a heated exchange when a commentator blamed Brexit for the ongoing migrant crisis in the English Channel.
The clash came as record numbers of migrants made the perilous journey across the Channel in small boats today.
A record-breaking 669 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats on Tuesday, according to figures from GB News in Dover. This surpasses the previous high of 656 migrants who made the journey on Saturday.
The number could potentially rise above 700, with reports of another vessel carrying approximately 70 migrants making steady progress towards UK waters.
Jo Phillips blamed Brexit for the influx in migrants
GB NEWS
In the heated clash on GB News, commentator Jo Phillips said: “There are several things I would say. One is that the people on those boats are human beings.
“The other point that everybody seems to have forgotten that since we left the European Union, we lost the ability to return people.”
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Martin said: “You’re blaming Brexit for this?”
She began to explain: “I am actually because there were no…” Martin interrupted: “You are seriously blaming Brexit.”
Phillips said: “There were no small boat crossings before 2017. When Boris Johnson came out of Europe we didn’t have small boat crossings and we can’t return them.
“We also don’t have access to an awful lot of European data bases, which would allow us to look at people who had been.”
Shocked Martin said: “The EU database would stop this mob?”
She responded: “It’s almost as though what we need to do is to counter that with this is the reality. You know, it’s quite calm at the moment.”
Martin said: “A social media campaign will stop it? European Union data will stop it? Come on.”
She said: “European Union would help. It would make it much quicker to return people who had already been refused asylum in other countries. We don’t have access to that.”
Despite frequent rain showers across the Channel, Border Force and French border patrols were overwhelmed with small boat sightings.
Martin Daubney was shocked by the statement
GB NEWS
At one point, Dover lifeboat was called to respond to two migrant boats as they arrived in UK waters, because every Border Force vessel was already engaged with other incidents.
The figures represent a significant challenge to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to “smash the gangs” responsible for facilitating the crossings.
One senior maritime security source told GB News: “This is an absolute disaster for Labour’s border security policies.”
The source added: “We’ve been shown a number of successes recently, in terms of the National Crime Agency and other law enforcement agencies making numerous arrests of suspected people smugglers.”
“But the fact is, we’re not seeing the gangs smashed, we’re seeing all previous records for migrant crossings being smashed.”