UK Border Chief Quits After Failing to Curb Migrant Channel Crossings
The head of the UK’s border security command, Martin Hewitt, will step down at the end of March after failing to curb the surge in small boat Channel crossings, with nearly 60,000 making the journey on his watch. The Mail has more.
The Home Office confirmed Martin Hewitt would leave the post of border security commander after 18 months in the job.
Sir Keir Starmer appointed Hewitt, a former senior police officer, shortly after becoming Prime Minister – tasking him with curbing the number of small boats crossing the Channel.
Since his appointment in September 2024, crossings have continued at sky-high levels – with 58,910 people making the journey in that time.
His tenure also saw the second-highest annual total of people crossing the Channel, with 41,472 people arriving in the UK by small boat last year.
It is understood he will leave at the end of the month, with an interim replacement appointed “in due course”.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the continuing small boats crisis was down to the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary.
“The Government’s complete failure on small boats isn’t down to Martin Hewitt,” he said. “It’s because Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood are too weak to take the necessary action – such as coming out of the European Convention on Human Rights and deporting all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival.
“Labour’s decision to cancel the Rwanda removals plan was a disaster – since the election 67,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the channel – an increase of 45% compared to the same period before.
“Martin Hewitt isn’t to blame for this – it’s down to Shabana Mahmood and Keir Starmer’s failings.”
In an interview last year – when he had been in the role for three months – Hewitt asked to be judged on his ability to bring crossing numbers down.
“Definitely judge us on the impact we’ve had on the number of crossings,” he said.
“Because that is absolutely clear to me from the Prime Minister, from the Home Secretary and I’m sure from the Foreign Secretary.
“That’s what my job is here to try and deliver. So that’s absolutely, that is the measure.”
There is no intention of stopping the migrants. The Home Office is intent on keeping the borders open.
In 2021 the outgoing head of the UK Border Force describing ‘bloody borders’ as ‘just such a pain in the bloody a***’.
Paul Lincoln made the remarks in a speech to mark his departure as director general of the Border Force.
Mr Lincoln ended his speech by quoting lines from rock star Shane MacGowan, of The Pogues, saying: ‘People are talking about immigration, emigration and the rest of the bloody thing. It’s all bloody crap.’
Presumably the same as they do when in power- the square root of f all. Which is exactly what they did for 14 years. Pots and kettles spring to mind. The hypocrisy knows no bounds.
And everything about the new ‘global imperative’ is diametrically opposed to everything that the Magna Carta represents which at its core are the rights of the free individual and no tax without representation: Open borders satisfy Article 13 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “all people have the inherent the right to enter, exit, move around in, and live in any country they choose.” https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-open-borders “Effective execution of Agenda 21 will require a profound reorientation of all human society, unlike anything the world has ever experienced a major shift in the priorities of both governments and individuals and an unprecedented redeployment of human and financial resources. This shift will demand that a concern for the environmental consequences of every human action be integrated into individual and collective decision-making at every level.” UN “The concept of national sovereignty has been immutable, indeed a sacred principle of international relations. It is a principle which will yield only slowly and reluctantly to the new imperatives of global environmental cooperation.” UN’s Commission on Global Governance Displayed on Plaque in the EU Parliament National sovereignty is the root cause of the most crying evils of our time and of… Read more »
mickie
22 days ago
It won’t stop because none of the political parties want it to stop – except Restore Britain, of course.
Exactly. It’s down to choice. Much like repealing the Equality Act and abolishing this woke/DEI disastrous bollocks for good, the fact Starmer and his predecessors haven’t put a stop to mass immigration and left the ECHR is something they’ve had the ability to do for years but chose not to. You can’t expect any changes on these fronts because only a radically different government would dare to do so because it’s not their aim to decimate the country and have the population demoralised like what’s happening now. You can’t expect to get your country back as long as it’s being ran by traitorous oikophobes who’ve pledged their allegiance elsewhere. Clowns in charge that think men can have babies and women can have penises.
It amazes me that the thought of a patriot as PM would be a complete novelty because I’d have to go back years in order to think of one as there’s been mainly charlatons at number 10 in my lifetime.
It is noteworthy the DT did not publish a response from the largest political party in the country. Reform is the only party with a credible plan to stop illegal immigration yet DT was not interested in their view nor did they once refer to its solution.
International Treaties and Courts run the show…..Our Politicians are simply local administrators pretending they are governing the country. —–Oh yeah they will shut you up quick if you dare to say something on social media that does not align with the globalist agenda that cares not where all the people live, and they will soon show you how tough they are. But when it comes to hundreds of thousands just turning up expecting to be housed and fed with our money, they suddenly become a shower of WIMPS who start muttering about “diversity” and “racism”
Any chance of him refunding taxpayers the entirely undeserved salary he’s been getting for the past 18 months?
I supposed, to be fair, it isn’t really his fault. Two-Tier, Hermer and the rest of the “open borders and make the Brits pay” numpties in the Labour Party are to blame.
They will do nothing to stop the boats, and the abuse of British taxpayers, because they don’t want to.
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There is no intention of stopping the migrants. The Home Office is intent on keeping the borders open.
In 2021 the outgoing head of the UK Border Force describing ‘bloody borders’ as ‘just such a pain in the bloody a***’.
Paul Lincoln made the remarks in a speech to mark his departure as director general of the Border Force.
Mr Lincoln ended his speech by quoting lines from rock star Shane MacGowan, of The Pogues, saying: ‘People are talking about immigration, emigration and the rest of the bloody thing. It’s all bloody crap.’
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10199165/Outgoing-UK-Border-Force-boss-triggers-political-row-saying-borders-just-pain-a.html
But then a shadow home secretary would blame the prime minister anyway, whether he was to blame or not. It is what shadow home secretaries do.
Presumably the same as they do when in power- the square root of f all. Which is exactly what they did for 14 years. Pots and kettles spring to mind. The hypocrisy knows no bounds.
While we are in ECHR it impossible to stop it. Government would not adopt policies that might reduce it.
I am amazed that was in his job description.
And everything about the new ‘global imperative’ is diametrically opposed to everything that the Magna Carta represents which at its core are the rights of the free individual and no tax without representation: Open borders satisfy Article 13 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “all people have the inherent the right to enter, exit, move around in, and live in any country they choose.” https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-open-borders “Effective execution of Agenda 21 will require a profound reorientation of all human society, unlike anything the world has ever experienced a major shift in the priorities of both governments and individuals and an unprecedented redeployment of human and financial resources. This shift will demand that a concern for the environmental consequences of every human action be integrated into individual and collective decision-making at every level.” UN “The concept of national sovereignty has been immutable, indeed a sacred principle of international relations. It is a principle which will yield only slowly and reluctantly to the new imperatives of global environmental cooperation.” UN’s Commission on Global Governance Displayed on Plaque in the EU Parliament National sovereignty is the root cause of the most crying evils of our time and of… Read more »
It won’t stop because none of the political parties want it to stop – except Restore Britain, of course.
Exactly. It’s down to choice. Much like repealing the Equality Act and abolishing this woke/DEI disastrous bollocks for good, the fact Starmer and his predecessors haven’t put a stop to mass immigration and left the ECHR is something they’ve had the ability to do for years but chose not to. You can’t expect any changes on these fronts because only a radically different government would dare to do so because it’s not their aim to decimate the country and have the population demoralised like what’s happening now. You can’t expect to get your country back as long as it’s being ran by traitorous oikophobes who’ve pledged their allegiance elsewhere. Clowns in charge that think men can have babies and women can have penises.
It amazes me that the thought of a patriot as PM would be a complete novelty because I’d have to go back years in order to think of one as there’s been mainly charlatons at number 10 in my lifetime.
And Reform, of course.
It is noteworthy the DT did not publish a response from the largest political party in the country. Reform is the only party with a credible plan to stop illegal immigration yet DT was not interested in their view nor did they once refer to its solution.
Maybe DT stands for Deluded (or Desperate) Tories.
Totally agree. It’s unfortunate as well as noteworthy.
International Treaties and Courts run the show…..Our Politicians are simply local administrators pretending they are governing the country. —–Oh yeah they will shut you up quick if you dare to say something on social media that does not align with the globalist agenda that cares not where all the people live, and they will soon show you how tough they are. But when it comes to hundreds of thousands just turning up expecting to be housed and fed with our money, they suddenly become a shower of WIMPS who start muttering about “diversity” and “racism”
Can anyone point to a single thing that Hewitt was allowed to do to ‘smash the gangs’ and stop these boats coming?
Just one… 🤷🏼
Never any women on these floaters.
Any chance of him refunding taxpayers the entirely undeserved salary he’s been getting for the past 18 months?
I supposed, to be fair, it isn’t really his fault. Two-Tier, Hermer and the rest of the “open borders and make the Brits pay” numpties in the Labour Party are to blame.
They will do nothing to stop the boats, and the abuse of British taxpayers, because they don’t want to.