More than 4,000 small-boat migrants have reached Britain since Labour came to power.
Home Office figures showed 355 people crossed the Channel illegally on Tuesday, bringing the total since the General Election to 4,065.
The third consecutive day of arrivals also brought this year’s running total to 17,639, it was confirmed yesterday.
Shadow home secretary James Cleverly called on the Government to ‘get a grip’. He said migrants on the French side of the Channel had been waiting until the Rwanda asylum scheme was scrapped.
Cancelling the Conservatives’ plan to remove irregular migrants – including those who arrive by small boat – was one of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s first acts in office.
Migrants are escorted to the port of Dover on Tuesday. Over 4,000 asylum seekers are thought to have made the crossing since Sir Keir Starmer came to power
An inflatable dinghy carries migrants towards England in the Channel on Tuesday
The Rwanda scheme had been designed to remove migrants’ ability to stay in the UK and deter them from making the crossing in the first place.
Last September it was reported that the National Crime Agency (NCA) – dubbed ‘Britain’s FBI’ – had assessed that ministers would struggle to stop the boats without a scheme to remove and deter migrants.
So far this year 23 people have died attempting to make the perilous crossing from continental Europe.
Tuesday’s arrivals are thought to include about 60 people, including at least one young child, who were photographed by drone aboard an overladen dinghy.
Mr Cleverly said: ‘We knew that there were people waiting until the Rwanda partnership was scrapped to cross the Channel, and it has come to pass.
‘Labour got rid of the deterrent the NCA said we needed, they can’t find someone to run their phantom border command, and the people smugglers can see that. Now they are taking advantage, 4,000 migrants have taken the potentially lethal journey across the Channel since Labour came to power.’
Calling on Sir Keir and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Mr Cleverly added: ‘[They] need to get a grip – and fast.’
Tuesday’s arrivals are thought to include about 60 people, as 23 are thought to have died while attempting to make the perilous journey so far this year
Migrants disembark a Border Force vessel after being rescued in the Channel on Tuesday
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We all want to see an end to dangerous small-boat crossings, which are undermining border security and putting lives at risk.
‘The new Government is taking steps to boost our border security, setting up a new Border Security Command which will bring together our intelligence and enforcement agencies, equipped with new counter-terror-style powers and hundreds of personnel stationed in the UK and overseas, to smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions in profit.’
The latest figures come days after it emerged that the Home Office’s top civil servant was given a £30,000 pay bump – despite presiding over the crossings.
Sir Matthew Rycroft, the permanent secretary, has faced accusations of being ‘rewarded for failure’ after he was given the increase on top of his £180,000-£190,000 salary. UK Border Force boss Phil Douglas was also awarded a bonus of £15,000-£20,000 last year.
