Chris Philp has blamed Labour for the UK's migrant crisis, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of axing the Rwanda deportation scheme "days before launch" with no back-up plan and warned Britain is now seeing the worst numbers in history. In a fiery interview with GB News, the Conservative Shadow Home Secretary hit out at the Labour government's handling of the small boats crisis, saying 2025 is already the worst year on record for illegal Channel crossings, and it's only August.

Philp didn't hold back, slamming Labour for scrapping the Rwanda scheme just before it was set to take off, despite all legal hurdles being cleared by the summer of last year."That would have seen 100% of illegal arrivals removed. It would've been a serious deterrent," he said. "But what did Keir Starmer do? He cancelled it. No plan. No replacement. Nothing."

Philp argued that had the flights to Rwanda begun as scheduled, the UK wouldn't now be grappling with record-breaking crossings.

The MP branded Labour's current return scheme "full of loopholes", comparing it to "Swiss cheese" and warning it will be torn apart by human rights lawyers."If someone says they're under 18, they stay. If they claim modern slavery, they stay. If they file a human rights claim even when it's unfounded, they stay. This isn't a deterrent. It's a green light."

He went on to mock Labour's calls to judge the scheme's success in the "medium term", insisting that if it had any deterrent value, the numbers should have already started falling.

"This plan won't work. Labour's made a massive mistake - cancelling Rwanda before it even started, and replacing it with a policy that's totally toothless."

The fresh criticism comes as Home Office figures show another 2,000 migrants crossed the Channel in a single day, despite the Government's new initiative to fast-track returns to France.

Philp's comments are likely to inflame the row over Labour's immigration policy as pressure mounts for tougher border controls and action to curb illegal entries.