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Watch: French police sit back as small boats set sail

Credit: Chris Philp

Chris Philp’s boots-on-the-ground exposé of the small boats farce took another shocking, if unsurprising, turn today. Fresh from having a French warship fire live rounds near him in the Channel, the Shadow Home Secretary watched as gendarmes south of Boulogne-sur-Mer did absolutely nothing to stop dozens of illegal migrants hurling themselves into dinghies destined for Dover.

Despite British taxpayers coughing up half a billion pounds for the French to intervene, candid officers on the beach made an astonishing confession to Philp:

Our order is to let them go. We just have to say to them “don’t do that it’s dangerous”.

It comes as around 500 illegal migrants are believed to have set sail for Britain today. Only yesterday, Andy Burnham insisted Labour’s ‘plan’ to stop the boats ‘is working’. A furious Philp hit back: ‘Shabana Mahmood should not be paying half a billion pounds of our money to the French when they’re failing to stop these embarkations. I only arrived here yesterday, and I managed to find this group of illegal immigrants in just a matter of a few hours. So why haven’t the French police been able to do that? Andy Burnham’s claim that this problem has been solved is clearly ridiculous.’

In a shameless attempt to gaslight the public, the Home Office issued a statement insisting Labour’s efforts to curb illegal migration are working. It read: ‘We are aware of posts circulating online that claim French law enforcement are failing to prevent small boat Channel crossings. UK-French cooperation has already stopped over 46,000 attempted crossings since the election… But we know there is more to do.’

While Burnham busies himself making TikToks, the small boats farce continues. The Prime Minister may think he can keep dodging the issue, but the sight of fighting-age men continuing to march on British shores will soon catch up with him.

Steerpike
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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

This article originally appeared in the UK edition

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