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Prime Minister Keir Starmer was slammed by the Assistant Editor of Conservative Home Tali Fraser as she discussed the small boat crisis on GB News Breakfast with hosts Alex Armstrong and Ellie Costello. "Why should people keep paying for people who aren't meant to be in this country!" she fumed reacting to the news, as reported in Express, the vast majority of Channel migrants are dodging deportations. A staggering 96,002 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Eritrea have arrived in small boats between 2018 and 2025. But only 495 - 0.5% - have been sent back to these countries in seven years.

"It's obviously a problem. People are talking about immigration, deportations, lots right now and how you actually can deal with this, because, again, it's another system of where the state is currently failing, and people are getting really worked up about it, because why should people keep paying for people who aren't meant to be in this country," she said.

"This is going to keep dominating the news until a better way of dealing with it is found."

Reflecting on the current statistics for returns she said: "You would take these bets. That's why people are and until it's dealt with properly, people will continue to do so."

She was speaking as new figures, obtained for the first time by the Daily Express, revealed more small boat migrants have been returned to Ireland, 57, than Syria, 55 and Afghanistan, 16.

And the same number have been sent back to Somalia and Tunisia, as well as to the United States of America - all three.

Rob Bates, of the Centre for Migration Control, said: "These cohorts are 'unremovable' until we leave the ECHR and overhaul outdated human rights laws.

"They are not fit for the modern era." Delays in removing small boat arrivals increase the likelihood of successful claims and appeals as people get married, have families and strengthen their "ties" to the UK.

Reform's Zia Yusuf told the Daily Express: "The latest figures expose the reality that successive governments have lost control of our borders. Ministers are attempting to gaslight the public into believing removals are improving when the truth is starkly different.

"Deportations have plummeted over the past decade while illegal immigration has surged to record levels, and the public have had enough... Across 122 countries, Britain is now returning fewer criminals, failed asylum seekers and visa overstayers. This is a complete systemic breakdown. Despite agreements existing, they are not being enforced. Even when Labour does reject asylum seekers, the vast majority stay anyway."