Charlie Stayt and Chris Philp on BBC Breakfast.

Chris Philp was humiliatingly forced to admit the Tories’ own failure on small boat crossings after dismissing Keir Starmer’s bid to solve the problem as a “gimmick”.

The shadow home secretary said the prime minister’s returns deal with French president Emmanuel Macron was “laughable”.

Under the agreement, France will take back some of those asylum seekers who make it to the UK across the English Channel.

In return, Britain will take some migrants from France who have not tried to make the illegal crossing.

An initial pilot scheme is set to begin in weeks, with 50 migrants a week initially being sent back from the UK – far fewer than the numbers actually arriving.

On BBC Breakfast this morning, Philp said: “I’m afraid it’s........

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