Philp labels Hermer's small boats comment a 'disgraceful slur'

Small Boats Comment Ignites Westminster Row

Lord Hermer, the government's most senior law officer, made a comment about small boats. It's a disgraceful slur. So said shadow home secretary Chris Philp. But Hermer's suggestion that right‑wing politicians want to let people drown in the water rather than stop Channel crossings has provoked a furious Conservative backlash.

It's a row that began. Hermer appeared on the Political Thinking podcast and argued that Labour's approach, built on international cooperation and deals with France, had delivered a reduction in crossings. But without the European Convention on Human Rights, he said, those agreements would collapse.

He's incendiary. When asked what Reform UK and the Conservatives would do instead, he gave his most incendiary assessment: "I think what they mean by that is let people drown in the water and that is not a British way to deal with it." But pressed on whether he believed Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch wanted drownings, Hermer responded that some of the voices, even to the right of Kemi Badenoch, use dehumanising language that disregards migrants' humanity.

The Attorney General’s Defence

Hermer's team rejected Philp's criticism. But a spokesperson said the government's steely determination to tackle illegal immigration doesn't conflict with human rights obligations, and Hermer remains deeply concerned by how some on the hard right are using dehumanising rhetoric.

The Attorney General, a human rights lawyer and close prime minister ally, underlined the practical case for ECHR membership, saying they're coming from France, Belgium, travelling through Greece, and taking boat parts through Germany. Not membership, he said. But pulling out of the convention, he insisted, would fracture the very cooperation needed to intercept vessels before they leave French beaches.

A Disgraceful Slur

“It is a disgraceful slur to suggest that those wanting to end illegal small boat immigration are prepared to see migrants drown.”

Philp’s response was swift and merciless. He accused Hermer and Sir Keir Starmer of being part of the problem, claiming that for them “the often tenuous human rights claims of illegal immigrants are more important than protecting our border”. Philp seized on the small boats comment as proof that Labour’s legal establishment is out of touch.

Small boat crossings rose under Labour. He argued Hermer had the cheek to suggest it's acceptable. His solution is to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, deport all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival, and then the crossings would soon stop. But Philp's side warn without that step illegal immigrants will continue flooding in under Labour.

Crossings Data Tells a Different Story

Channel Crossings by the Numbers

• More than 200,000 people have reached the UK in small boats since 2018.
• 2022 was the highest year on record, followed by 2025 when over 40,000 arrived.
• So far this year, numbers are down 38% on the same period in 2025, with roughly 9,000 arrivals since January.

He's wrong. But Home Office data shows 38% drop, sharpest early-year reduction since small boat phenomenon began; that statistical U-turn complicates Philp's claim of surge under Starmer and the Conservative claim the government's soft on border control.

Lord Hermer pointed to two fresh agreements with France, one creating a one in one out arrangement and the other empowering French police to intervene more forcefully to stop launches from the northern coast, as evidence that it works. So it's proof.

The Push to Walk Away from the ECHR

The Reform and Tory Position

Both the Conservatives and Reform UK argue that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights would make removing anyone arriving illegally straightforward, but Labour opts to persuade signatory nations to reinterpret rules for swifter deportations. Reform goes further. It's pledged to review every asylum claim from the last five years if it gains power. And last year, European countries agreed to start those negotiations.

Membership no magnet, says Hermer. But he noted they're travelling from countries that are also signatories and strong supporters of it, and he told the podcast the real solution is only through international cooperation that we're going to be able to deal effectively with small boats.

What Comes Next

Hermer's allies counter that talk of leaving the ECHR is a reckless gamble, and it's a gamble that would unravel the intelligence-sharing and joint operations keeping numbers down this year. But Philp's camp sees political ground by hammering the narrative that Labour's legal-minded approach leaves the border porous, and they're not backing down at all. Small boats fight won't cool.

The debate will sharpen. Reform and the Conservatives outline ever more radical alternatives while the government's Rwanda scheme remains on ice. But for now the small boats comment's laid bare a fundamental divide whether Britain's asylum system can be reformed from within the existing human rights framework or needs to break free entirely.