Starmer Accused Of Dancing To ‘Farage’s Tune’ With Small Boats Crackdown

Keir Starmer has been accused of “dancing” to Nigel Farage’s tune with his latest promise to cut back on illegal immigration.

While hosting more than 40 countries at a landmark illegal migration summit today in London, the prime minister unveiled £33 million of funding to help set up an international unit of the Crown Prosecution Service.

He said 24,000 people “who have no right to be here” were returned under Labour, which he claimed was the “highest return rate for eight years”.

He said the UK has been seen as a “soft touch on migration”.

Starmer also called on an international effort to stop the people-smuggling gangs, saying they should be treated as a global security threat, similar to terrorism.

But his announcements were soon slammed as “inhumane and ineffective”.

The Green Party’s co-leader Carla Denyer said in a statement: “The UK’s inhumane and ineffective approach to migration is costing lives, and yet Keir Starmer is choosing to dance to Nigel Farage’s tune rather than making the common sense changes needed to make the system safer and fairer.

“We urgently need to introduce safe routes for people fleeing war, violence or persecution to seek safety in the UK so that people aren’t forced into the hands of people smugglers.

“It’s shameful that this Labour government continues to ignore the only solution that will prevent people from dying during dangerous journeys to the UK, all because they are running scared of Farage’s Reform party.”

Reform UK leader Farage quickly criticised Starmer’s speech too.

In a message on X, he said: “Over 30,000 migrants have crossed the Channel since Labour came to power. More illegals crossed in the first three months of 2025 than the same period in 2024.

“He promised to smash the gangs but he’s smashing Rishi Sunak’s record instead.”

The Conservatives, on the other hand, claimed Labour should have kept their Rwanda deterrent – even though only four volunteers were ever deported via the scheme.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “The government’s plan to ‘smash the gangs’ already lies in tatters. We are about to see 30,000 illegal channel crossings since election reached this week, a 31% increase.

“This year so far has been the worst on record. This is a direct consequence of the government cancelling the Rwanda deterrent before it even started.

“Other countries, including Germany, Italy and the even the European Commission are looking at offshore processing as a deterrent, but Starmer’s Labour government has gone in the opposite direction. He has lost control of our borders as a result.”

Border security minister Angela Eagle told the media this morning Labour were “open-minded” when it came to looking at offshore processing.

But Philp added: “Today’s conference will make no difference to that – as the NCAA themselves said, law enforcement alone cannot stop illegal immigration. You need a removals deterrent.

“And Yvette Cooper admitted yesterday that the government is simply crossing its fingers and praying for bad weather to stop illegal migration across the channel. That is not a plan.”

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Jeremy Clarkson’s Grand Tour Replacement Could Be This TikTok Trainspotter

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May parted ways with their Amazon Prime series The Grand Tour last year.

Co-star James May explained that this was because “I think Jeremy, Richard and I gave the format a really good thrashing and now it’s time to let a younger generation have a go.”

But working out who that “younger generation” may be seems to have proven difficult, with rumours of a replacement from The Sun only circulating a year on from when the last episode aired.

Francis Bourgeois
Francis Bourgeois

via Associated Press

The publication says a source told them TikTok sensation and train lover Francis Bourgeois was set to replace Jeremy (sorry, what?).

“Francis is a big noise online and Amazon producers are hoping to bring him into the mainstream,” the TV insider alleged.

“He is loved by everyone – from royals to rappers – and is sure to be a hit with Grand Tour viewers.

“Francis is not just a social media sensation but trained as a mechanical engineer so knows his stuff,” they told the publication.

Of course, this is all rumour at the moment – HuffPost UK has asked Amazon for comment to clarify – but that hasn’t stopped fans from having pretty strong reactions to the suggestion.

“April the 1st is not until Tuesday,” one X user wrote.

Still, it wouldn’t be Francis’ first dip into mainstream TV.

Channel 4′s Trainspotting With Francis Bourgeois starred big-name guests like Tom Daly, Aisling Bea, and Sam Ryder.

He also worked with Louis Theroux on YouTube series Scooting & Chatting with Francis Bourgeois.

Francis has also appeared in Clean Bandit, Anne-Marie, and David Guetta’s Cry Baby music video.

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He has also worked with brands like Gucci before.

Only time will tell if the sustainable transport lover will be able to add the car-obsessed show to his extensive CV too…

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