Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp had a machete pulled on him and was pelted with bottles during a visit to a migrant camp near Dunkirk on Wednesday afternoon. The Conservative politician was attempting to speak to migrants at the site when the violent incident occurred.
Philp posted about the threat on X, writing: "Just had a knife pulled on us in the new jungle camp by Dunkirk and then pelted with bottles while trying to speak to migrants. Will post (an) update later." He had travelled to France on Tuesday evening to find out more about what was happening on the ground.
Zak Garner-Purkis, who accompanied Philp during the visit, described how the man with the machete was "swinging it around in the air" to "send a message to the other people there". The group left the area quickly after spotting the threat.
Outnumbered and under threat
Philp told GB News there were only five people in his group compared to an estimated one to two thousand migrants in the camp. "It was a slightly unsettling experience, but everyone got out OK," he said.
The Shadow Home Secretary expressed concern about the security implications, noting: "People who pull knives, these people are on their way to the UK in dinghies and we were certainly seriously threatened just a few minutes ago." He observed many migrants carrying life jackets, indicating their determination to cross the Channel.
Migration crisis response
According to BBC analysis, more than 170,000 migrants have arrived in the UK via small boats since 2018. The numbers included 45,755 arrivals in 2022, with 37,000 recorded in 2024 and 27,029 arrivals as of 11 August 2025.
Labour has promised to tackle people-smuggling operations by investing £100 million to fund 300 additional National Crime Agency officers. The government has also negotiated an agreement with France where Britain takes in asylum seekers who haven't attempted Channel crossings in exchange for sending some arrivals back.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Labour) described the France deal as a "product of months of grown-up diplomacy", contrasting with Conservative criticism over scrapping the Rwanda deportation scheme.
Sources used: "Evening Standard", "BBC" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
