Burnham blames Brexit for UK small boats crisis

Summarised from The Independent's report · Updated 26 Oct, 12:14 · Archive

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has attributed Britain's small boats migrant crisis to Brexit, saying the UK now has weaker control over returns.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has attributed the UK's small boats crisis to Brexit, saying the country now has weaker control over migrant returns. He said he does not think Brexit has worked out as people predicted, particularly regarding immigration.

According to The Independent, more than 200,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel since data began in January 2018. The record for the largest annual intake is 45,774, set in 2022. However, in the first six months of 2026, the number of people arriving by small boat fell 41 per cent and the number of boats fell 47 per cent compared to the previous year.

Mr Burnham has previously signalled openness to rejoining the EU and has said he wants to see Britain rejoin in his lifetime. He has ruled out a return to EU freedom of movement rules without a referendum.

Read the report

• Burnham: Brexit is to blame for Britain’s small boats crisisThe prime minister said he did not think ‘things have worked out as people said they would at the time’The Independent · 26 Oct, 11:45

In this story: Andy Burnham · United Kingdom · European Union

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem