Britain's former chief immigration officer for Calais and Dunkirk has declared that dismantling people smuggling networks is an unachievable goal, whilst expressing dismay at French law enforcement's response to trafficking operations.

The former official criticised French police efforts, suggesting officers might be "drinking too much coffee and eating too many croissants and not being out on the roads actually seeing what is going on."

Kevin Saunders, who previously oversaw immigration controls at the key Channel crossing points, told GB News: “You can see why [the traffickers] are doing it; they want to make sure that the migrants know exactly where to go, exactly where the boats are going to be, which will limit their time on the beach.

Kevin Saunders said he is "astonished" that French Police are "not jumping all over this"

“Thus hopefully, from their point of view, there is less chance of the French police jumping in and stopping them.

“I'm astonished that the French police aren’t jumping all over this, because this would be so obvious. You're taking them to where the boats are buried. I don't think I can ever be surprised anymore about what's going on.

“It would indicate that perhaps the French police could be drinking too much coffee and eating too many croissants and not being out on the roads actually seeing what is going on.

“Because it's pretty obvious, with the numbers that are involved, that something is going on. I've been saying for years that you will not be able to break the gangs: you can't do it, it's not going to happen and now perhaps people might start to listen.

“These smuggling gangs that they're catching, they're either very, very lucky, or they're in the UK, and you can catch it in the UK, because that's our jurisdiction.

“But even if they’re in France, even if we're working closely with the French, at the end of the day, it's still up to the French.

“And I think the guy that was running the tourist business, what did he get? Two years? Not exactly a deterrent.”

His remarks come as unauthorised Channel crossings continue at unprecedented levels despite Government pledges to tackle the crisis.

The scale of unauthorised crossings has reached a significant milestone , with figures revealing that more than 50,000 people have arrived via small boats since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister.

GB News disclosed on Monday that this threshold was crossed when 430 additional migrants completed the journey from France.

GB News disclosed on Monday that this threshold was crossed when 430 additional migrants completed the journey from France

The total comprises 23,242 arrivals during the remainder of last year following Labour's election victory, plus 26,986 who have made the crossing so far this year.

These statistics emerge despite the Government's commitment to "Smash the Gangs" and the recent implementation of a limited agreement with France to return some migrants.

In the period following that arrangement becoming operational last Wednesday, smuggling networks successfully transported over 1,500 people to British waters.