SIR KEIR Starmer was accused of losing control of the country's borders as small boat arrivals increased by some 29 per cent since Labour came to power.

The Tories last night said there has been 23,242 migrant crossings which is a major increase on the 18,004 in the same time frame - from July to December - last year.

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Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp says there are three times as many illegal immigrants arriving in December compared to 12 months previously.

He said that the government made a "catastrophic mistake" getting rid of the Rwanda deportation policy which was set to offer a deterrent.

Mr Philp said: "These figures make clear Labour has totally failed on illegal immigration by small boat.”

“Numbers have sky-rocketed since the general election. Over three times more illegal immigrants crossed in December this year compared to last year - an insult to the British people.

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"Labour has lost control of our borders.”

“The National Crime Agency warned that a removals deterrent was needed, and the law-enforcement alone would not be enough.

"This means Labour made a catastrophic mistake by cancelling the Rwanda removals."

A Home Office source hit back: "The Tory government failed to take our border security seriously. They let criminal gangs take hold all along our borders and, on their watch, small boat crossings grew from just a few hundred in 2018 to tens of thousands by the time they left office.

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“They spent an eye watering £700mn to send just four volunteers to Rwanda - the failed scheme was more of a distraction than a deterrent.

“Labour is fixing our border security, with a new Border Security Command backed up by an additional £150million and a hundred new specialist investigators to go after the evil smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings.”

A Home Office spokesman added: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.

“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay.

"We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.”