Sir Keir Starmer could look to one European nation for inspiration after the country launched a crackdown on asylum applications bringing them to a “historic” low of just 860 last year.

Denmark, like the UK, currently has a Left-of-centre government, but increasing pressure from the migration crisis gripping Europe has meant Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen has taken tough action on arrivals

Seen as a traditionally more Right-of-centre issue, Ms Frederiksen has confronted her own country’s problems with overwhelming asylum applications by building on the work of previous Danish administrations.

And since 2015 the number of asylum bids granted has dropped by 88.4% as part of the nation’s “zero refugee” policy.

According to the Home Office, in the UK for the year ending September 2024, 52,739 people were granted refugee protection or other leave at initial decision, over a third more than in the previous year, which was 39,232.

In a statement Ms Frederiksen’s Immigration Minister, Kaare Dybvad Bek, called the latest figure for Denmark “historic”, adding: “Last year, authorities granted the smallest number of residency permits to asylum seekers that we have seen in recent years.”

And speaking previously on immigration, Mr Dybvad Bek, said: “I would say 80 to 85% agree that on the one hand we cannot accept an endless number of refugees, and on the other, we are of course part of international conventions, human rights, refugees’ rights, and we strictly have to respect these as well.”

Ms Frederiksen has implemented a number of migration control measures since she was elected in 2019, she had previously failed to win an election in 2015 amid growing discontent over immigration.

However, the Danish Prime Minister said she recognised unchecked asylum applications and immigration was an issue for Left-wing, working-class voters.

She told the Financial Times last year Denmark had inacted a sweeping removal of residency permits for Syrian refugees after a spike in crime.

She said: “An unsafe society is always a bigger challenge for people without a lot of opportunities. If you have the money, you will always be able to defend yourself.”

Denmark, which has a population of just under six million, also introduced an “anti-ghetto law” aimed at reducing the number of “non-Western” residents in certain areas by 30% by 2030.

Since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister more than 25,000 migrants have been detected crossing the English Channel, according to provisional Home Office data.

A total of 240 people made the journey in four boats on Saturday, taking the provisional total for 2025 to date to 1,893, according to the data.

This brings the total provisional number of migrants to have crossed the Channel since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister to 25,135.

Saturday’s provisional figure was the second-highest in 2025, with 260 migrants detected crossing the Channel on January 13. A total of 36,816 people crossed the English Channel in 2024.

Last year’s arrivals jumped by 25% from the 29,437 who arrived in 2023, according to the Home Office, but dropped by 20% on the record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay.

“We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.”