GB News presenter Miriam Cates certainly didn’t hold back as she grilled Labour MP Lilian Greenwood over the record-breaking migrant crossing statistics this year. On Tuesday (April 15), a record number of small boat migrants crossed the English Channel just days after the largest number this year made the illegal journey.

Provision figures show around 700 migrants arrive in UK waters yesterday, surpassing the previous one-day record of 656 migrant arrivals. The latest crossings take the number of small boat migrants who have travelled to the UK this year to almost 9,000. These figures are around 40 per cent higher than the 6,265 who crossed the channel at this time last year.

It makes grim reading for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who promised the government would ‘Smash the Gangs’ this year. On Wednesday (April 16), Eamonn Holmes and his temporary co-host Miriam welcomed Tory MP Lillian Greenwood onto the show to explain the government’s next steps to address the issue.

She began: “What is not eminently sensible is Labour’s approach to the small boats crisis because, having ditched the Rwanda plan – which, of course, wasn’t perfect – having ditched that, there is now no plan at all, there is no deterrent, is there?”

Lilian replied: “No, that’s not the case. Obviously, the Rwanda plan wasted millions and millions of taxpayer’s money-” to which Miriam interjected: “They’ve wasted it because you repealed the act.”

The MP argued: “No, the Rwanda plan was introduced by the previous government and it delivered absolutely nothing but just cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds. We’ve come in, we’ve taken swift action in setting up a border security command. We know that there are organised criminal gangs exploiting people who are absolutely desperate and we are committed to smashing those gangs.”

Miriam countered: “You smash one gang, another gang springs up because there is still money to be made in transporting people illegally across Europe. You have to have a deterrent as well.”

The Labour MP went on: “Well, we are working extremely hard to smash those criminal gangs, to make that if people are endulging in this illegal trade that operates on people’s misery, that puts lives in danger and is totally unacceptable, that they face the full force of the law.

“That’s what we’re working to do. I’m not going to pretend that this is an easy fix. The last government left out asylum system utterly broken and it will take time to turn that around.”

Miriam added: “Lilian, I’m so sorry to cut in again but I would really like an answer to this question: Yes, you should smash the gangs, nobody will disagree with that, but while there is still an incentive to bring people here on small boats which is £3,000 to £6,000 per person you transport.

“Even if you arrest people, even if you break gangs, other gangs will spring up because there is money to be made unless you deter people by instantly detaining them or processing them offshore or something along those lines.”

It didn’t take long before fans flooded to X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their thoughts online. One user penned: “Well luv, we haven’t got time it’s beyond critical now. We can’t afford it and we can’t take in the world. Take away the incentive which is money & houses.”

Another echoed: “Ficing the system doesn’t take time, Trump has shown what a strong government can do. The government should answer to no one but the people of the United Kingdom.”

A third echoed: “Labour wasted the millions spent on Rwanda. It was set up ready to go but they knocked it on the head without having a deterrent of their own ready to go.”