Politics

Labour Sparks Outrage After Minister Claims Small Boat Migrants Mostly Women and Kids

Published on June 13, 2025

Tensions erupted on BBC Question Time after Labour’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, claimed that most people crossing the Channel in small boats are “children, babies and women”. His remark drew immediate backlash from both the audience and political opponents, with Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf quickly countering that “more than 90% of them are adult male”.

As the audience bristled, host Fiona Bruce challenged Jones directly, asking if he was really saying that wasn’t true. Jones doubled down, insisting his claim was accurate and arguing, “When there are babies and children put into that position by human trafficking gangs… I would ask any of you to look at those babies and children and say ‘go back’”, reported the Express.

Yusuf didn’t hold back in his response. He said his earlier point – that the government puts foreign nationals above British citizens – had just been proven. “The vast, vast majority of people making the journey from France by small boat are fighting age, military age, males, not women and children,” he said, before slamming Labour’s promises to shut down asylum hotels.

He went on to describe time spent in the constituency of Runcorn and Helsby, highlighting how locals in deprived areas are frustrated with illegal migrants being housed in HMOs, claiming there’s “no say for the local people” and blaming Serco and Labour’s Yvette Cooper for the situation.

The row escalated further as the pair locked horns over whether the Home Office is buying up hotels with public money. Yusuf repeatedly pressed Jones to deny it outright, but the minister wouldn’t give a straight answer. “We had to buy some of it to get people out of hotels,” he said, adding that it was “cheaper to do it that way”.

One audience member, clearly fed up, blasted politicians from all sides over their immigration records. Despite saying he’d still vote Labour, he warned they’d lose the next election to Reform UK, who, in his view, “have no plans and no clue”. He demanded the government take action now. “Send the Border Force out as soon as the dinghies leave French waters, turn them around, disembark the passengers and take away the boats,” he said. “We need direct action. We need it now. There’s your savings, right there.”

Behind the fiery debate are some eye-watering figures. Treasury documents show that the government will still be spending £2.5 billion on asylum in 2028/29, with £3.6 billion planned for each of the next two years and £2.9 billion in 2027/28. At the moment, more than 32,000 migrants are living in taxpayer-funded hotels at a cost of around £54,000 per person per year.

Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the plan to close all migrant hotels by July 2029. She says an extra £200 million is being funnelled into efforts to cut the asylum backlog and return those without a legal right to stay, claiming it could save taxpayers £1 billion annually.

Meanwhile, new proposals are on the table. Ministers are considering whether failed asylum seekers should be made to appeal from their home countries, rather than staying in the UK during lengthy legal battles. Baroness Jenny Chapman said there’s “no legal reason” why some migrants can’t lodge appeals from abroad, arguing that it sends a strong message that the UK is serious about immigration reform.

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