Andy Burnham Blames Brexit for Record Channel Crossings

Prime Minister Andy Burnham attributed the difficulty in stopping illegal English Channel crossings to a loss of collaboration with neighboring countries following Brexit. His comments follow a record-breaking day on Wednesday when 781 migrants crossed in a single day, including two boats that landed undetected in Kent. The surge coincided with the deaths of two men attempting the journey in France.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review of the undetected landings, though she previously disputed that Brexit was responsible for the boat crisis. Meanwhile, political opponents accused the Prime Minister of hiding policy failures. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused Burnham of gaslighting the public, arguing that EU-era agreements were ineffective.

Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf claimed the government is inciting disorder by placing unvetted migrants into local communities. This tension manifested in Piddington, where residents held a symbolic referendum to leave the UK in protest of a nearby migrant base. Burnham condemned anti-migrant protests involving masked individuals as not the British way, following arrests in Gosport and a court appearance in Basingstoke for activist Daniel Thomas, who is accused of slashing a boat in the English Channel.