Migrant crisis spirals out of control... yet our border chiefs pocket bonuses

LABOUR TOLD TO GET A GRIP

- 

the number of migrants living in hotels has increased during the past 12 months.

Small-boat arrivals are also up nearly 50%, with 28,000 migrants crossing the Channel since January - putting the UK on course for a record-breaking year.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called the Home Office under Labour “a dismal failure”.

And he added: “Record numbers of illegal immigrants are crossing the Channel this year, numbers in asylum hotels are up since the election and the proportion of small-boat arrivals removed is down to just 5%.

“Instead of handing out bumper payouts, Labour ministers should grip the crisis they have created. Labour has lost control of our borders and they have no plan to fix it. Instead they’re doling out even more of our hard-earned cash.”

Mr Hewitt’s annual salary was revealed in the latest Home Office accounts, which also showed Second Permanent Secretary Simon Ridley, who often gives evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee about the asylum crisis, saw his pay increase by £5,000 to between £170,000-£175,000.

Mr Ridley famously revealed the Home Office was shelling out money for empty hotel beds — in case there was a surge in Channel crossings.

The director-general of Border Force, Philip Douglas, saw his basic salary increase to between £140,000 and £145,000. In 2023/24, he earned between £135,000 and £140,000. But Mr Douglas also received bonuses of up to £15,000 in 2024/25.

The previous year he received £130,000 for heading up the agency and was given a bonus said to be between £15,000 and £20,000.