UK faces soaring illegal arrivals as Labour pushes refugee resettlement and critics demand crackdown

Channel crossings have accelerated, with over 1,200 undocumented migrants reported to have reached Britain in the past few days, a figure cited by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who described the situation as a "national emergency" and blamed the government for losing control of the border. He highlighted the financial strain, suggesting each arrival costs the public purse roughly £350,000, and called for an "Operation Fortress" to end what he calls a culture of migrant hotels.

In response, Labour's interior minister Shabana Mahmood said the government will reactivate the UK Resettlement Scheme, a program that will initially accept a few hundred refugees, focusing on Afghan women, girls and Palestinians, before scaling up. Critics, including Conservative shadow minister Chris Philp, accuse Mahmood of a desperate attempt to placate Labour's left wing and argue that no new migrants should be admitted while illegal entry remains high. The debate also touches on a recent government definition of "anti-Muslim hostility" and a separate case involving a Palestinian asylum seeker linked to a Hamas-related terror plot, underscoring security concerns alongside the migration dispute.