Ministers urged to act to prevent Ceuta migrants reaching the UK - as Priti Patel warns of 'inevitable' influx at the Channel and Gibraltar

By JASON GROVES, POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 14:08, 31 July 2026 | Updated: 14:16, 31 July 2026 Priti Patel has demanded immediate action to prevent thousands of African migrants who stormed into Spanish territory from reaching the UK. Spanish authorities have confirmed that a staggering 49,000 migrants surged into the enclave of Ceuta on the Moroccan coast during chaotic scenes on Thursday. Dame Priti warned that some of those crossing illegally would now ‘inevitably try to make their way to the UK’. In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Secretary, she called for strengthened procedures at both the English Channel and Gibraltar, where Labour recently agreed a deal to dismantle the land border with Spain. ‘What steps will you take to protect Gibraltar from the risks of these illegal migrants being able to enter illegally should they reach mainland Spain?’ she wrote. ‘Have you assessed the risk of these migrants travelling towards the UK?’ The city of Ceuta, on Morocco’s northern coast, is separated from mainland Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar. It has a population of just 84,000. Regular ferries cross from Ceuta to the southern Spanish port of Algeciras, which is only 20 miles by road from Gibraltar. Under a recent deal, land border controls between Spain and Gibraltar have been lifted, allowing people to simply walk across to the Rock, from where regular flights operate to the UK. More than 49,000 African migrants surged into Ceuta on Thursday as border checks collapsed At risk: Priti Patel urged ministers to act to prevent Ceuta migrants reaching the UK The Foreign Office has so far made no response to the situation in Ceuta, which has prompted Italian PM Georgia Meloni to call for Spain to be suspended from the EU’s borderless Schengen zone. Cabinet Office minister Louise Haigh said it was ‘not helpful’ to describe the scenes at Ceuta as an ‘invasion’. Ms Haigh, Andy Burnham’s de fact deputy, told GB News: ’It is obviously extremely concerning… but it’s not an invading nation or force. It’s a lot of people crossing over a border, attempting to enter another country and we need to stop those people entering our country illegally.’ The astonishing influx of migrants into Ceuta came as border controls collapsed on Thursday. Thousands of young men swam into the territory from Morocco while others poured through land crossings. It followed a ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court ruled this month that migrants stopped at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish exclave, cannot be immediately returned to Morocco. Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described Thursday’s events as an ‘attack on Spain’. He insisted that the Spanish government is working to return the thousands who crossed back to Morocco. But Dame Priti warned that Spain’s recent amnesty for illegal migrants was acting as a magnet for migrants heading for Europe. Almost 1.2 million illegal migrants applied for the scheme during a 10-week period. It was open to undocumented migrants who had been living in the country for at least five months by the end of last year, provided they had no criminal convictions. Official figures this month show that more than 600,000 applicants have already been granted temporary work permits since the scheme closed on 30 June. Dame Priti urged Mr Miliband to take up the issue with Spain. In a letter seen by the Daily Mail, she said there was ‘potential for more migrants to attempt to enter the UK through illegal means as a result of receiving an amnesty from Spain.’