Uproar at just 30 small boat pilots convicted in six months by Immigration Enforcement

Labout is accused of "staggering incompetence" with a mere 30 small boat pilots convicted by Home Office Immigration Enforcement in the first six months of this year despite Sir Keir Starmer vowing to "smash the gangs" and nearly 20,000 migrants crossing the Channel. The Home Office body convicted only 38 passengers during this time, triggering warnings that border enforcement has "collapsed" under Labour.

Last month Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood admitted her department is "not yet fit for purpose". The disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act that so few convictions have been secured by Immigration Enforcement against small boat pilots and passengers has hiked pressure on the Prime Minister.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: "Someone tell Keir Starmer it is illegal to cross the Channel illegally. These figures lay bare the collapse of border enforcement under Labour.

"Even more staggering, not a single person was convicted under Section 25 for facilitating illegal entry, the law designed to target smugglers. Meanwhile, convicted offenders from countries like Albania, Sudan, Iraq, and Iran are still being housed at taxpayers' expense instead of being deported.

"This is what happens when you put human rights lawyers in charge of border control. The British people deserve a system that actually enforces the law."

Of the 30 convicted pilots, 11 were from Sudan; four were from Iran and three were Palestinian. And of the 38 passengers, the greatest number were from Albania (seven), followed by Iraq (five) and Afghanistan and Vietnam (both four). The figures do not take account of the work of the National Crime Agency.

Setting out how he would tackle small boats crisis, Mr Philp said the Tories would "leave the ECHR, remove all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival" and "end the merry-go-round of appeals". He claimed the Prime Minister "doesn't have the backbone to do this".

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The information set out in the FOI relates only to convictions obtained by Immigration Enforcement in the first six months of this year and does not represent the activity taken across law enforcement to tackle this threat. We are taking decisive action to dismantle the organised criminal networks behind small boat crossings which danger lives and compromise UK border security."

The Home Secretary is expected to announce an overhaul of the asylum and immigration system this month with officials studying Denmark's tougher rules on family reunion and its policy of only allowing most refugees temporary residency.

Reform UK MP Lee Anderson responded to the Immigration Enforcement figures, saying Labour was betraying Britain by failing to protect borders.

He said: "This is yet another staggering display of incompetence and deceit from this Labour Government. Instead of cracking down on illegal activity, their solution is simply to make it legal.

"This is a party that has failed the British public on every level. The problem will only be solved when march into the Home Office, remove those complicit in Britain's betrayal, and restore real border control and national security."

Alp Mehmet of Migration Watch said: "A person who is not a British citizen and knowingly enters the UK without leave commits a criminal offence under UK law. They can certainly be prosecuted.

"If the Director of Public Prosecutions is unable or unwilling to prosecute, illegal entrants must be quickly returned to wherever they came from or their country of origin. Spurious claims for asylum should not be given the time of day.

"That is why we must hand in our notice to leave the ECHR as soon as we possibly can."