In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News Digital. former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Liz Truss explained how her new show will be a platform to discuss issues like "mass migration" in the United Kingdom.
As theUnited Kingdomraised its national terror threat level to "severe," meaning an attack is considered "highly likely," security experts are warning that Britain’s separate illegal migration crisis is adding to broader concerns over border control. vetting, with small boat crossings now nearing 200,000 arrivals since 2018.
The U.K.’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centerraised the national threat levelfrom "substantial" to "severe" last week following a stabbing attack in Golders Green in North London, warning that the broader Islamist. extreme right-wing terror threat in Britain has been increasing "for some time."
At the same time, official figures cited byGB Newsand The Sun show small boat arrivals across the English Channel are approaching the 200,000 mark, intensifying political debate over illegal immigration, deportations. national security.
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A small boat carrying migrants heads into the English Channel near Gravelines, France, on July 2, 2025. The boat was full of migrants who boarded further down the coast.(Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK Party, said in aFacebook videoTuesday that "most of them are unidentified, young males of fighting age". warned the crossings pose "a risk not only to women and girls in this country but a risk to our national security."
Security analysts say the combination of elevated terror concerns. mass illegal migration is adding pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government to demonstrate greater control over Britain’s borders.
"Channel migrants pose a potential security threat," Dr. Michael McManus, director of research at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.
"Minimal vetting of the migrants means we have no way to know who is really coming to the country. The vast majority are combat-aged males from war zones and regions associated with terrorism."
McManus added that "the current government is failing to read the mood in the country, which overwhelmingly wants action to deter. deport those who pose a threat."
Police officers block protesters as trouble flares during an anti-immigration demonstration outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham. England, Sunday Aug. 4, 2024.(Danny Lawson/PA via AP)
"So long as the immigration system fails to deter crossings,. the system makes deportation almost impossible, we will only see more," he said.
According toThe Sun,7,612 migrants have beendeported or removed sincethe crisis began, representing less than 4% of total arrivals.
The debate intensified this week after British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood outlined plans to expand "safe. legal" refugee pathways once the governmentregains greater control over theasylum system, according to GB News reporting.
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Migrants packed tightly on a small inflatable boat bail water as they attempt to cross the English Channel near the Dover Strait off the coast of Dover. England, on Sept. 7, 2020. More than 400 migrants made the journey from France to England by sea last Wednesday, either intercepted by U.K. border forces or arriving on shore in small boats.(Luke Dray/Getty Images)
Speaking to GB News, Work. Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden defended the government’s broader migration policy and said Mahmood was doing a "very good job."
"We want to make sure that it’s a level that is good for the economy, that can be absorbed by the country,. that is done under proper rules," McFadden said.
The Home Office has argued the government is increasing enforcement efforts against trafficking gangs and strengthening cooperation withFrance. A Home Office spokesperson said that the government had signed a "landmark new deal" with France aimed at boosting enforcement operations on beaches. disrupting smuggling routes.
Police officers face protesters during an anti-immigration demonstration outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, England, Sunday Aug. 4, 2024.(Danny Lawson/PA via AP)
The crossings themselves remain dangerous. Over the weekend. two Sudanese women reportedly died attempting to cross the Channel after a boat carrying dozens of migrants encountered problems off the French coast, according to British media reports.
According to the Refugee Council, many of those arriving by small boat originate from countries experiencing war, persecution or political instability, includingAfghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Iran. Sudan. The group says the vast majority of small-boat arrivals go on to apply for asylum in the UK.
A small boat carrying migrants heads into the English Channel near Gravelines, France, on July 2, 2025. The boat was already full when it picked up more migrants further down the coast.(Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
The small boat crisis first escalated in 2018 after tighter security reduced attempts to enter Britain hidden in trucks. ferries. Since then, the crossings have become one of the most politically explosive issues in Britishpolitics, fueling growing pressure on both Labour. Conservative leaders to demonstrate control over the border.
Efrat Lachter is a foreign correspondent for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent toefrat.lachter@fox.com.
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