Spanish PM blasts 'selfish' EU nations over criticism after 60,000 migrants cross border from Morocco - as death toll rises to 77
The Tories and Reform have urged the Prime Minister to act so that the influx does not reach the UK
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has hit back at a number of EU nations over what he described as a “selfish, polarising and illegal reaction” to an influx of 60,000 migrants from Morocco.
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Spanish authorities confirmed on Saturday that the total number of dead had risen to 77 after migrants from Africa crossed the EU border into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
Spain's PM thanked Morocco for its help in dealing with the crisis, as he blasted the "attack" levelled at him by some European leaders, after Italy's PM Georgia Meloni called for Spain’s suspension from the EU’s visa-free Schengen zone.
Speaking on Saturday, Spain's interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gomez, confirmed the death toll following the influx of migrants had risen from 57 on Friday.
Thousands of African migrants illegally crossed the border from Morocco on Thursday, travelling to the enclave of Ceuta, on the Moroccan coast, in chaotic scenes.
The Spanish minister was also seen to push back against criticism over a lack of border security, insisting: "Between 2021 and 2026, irregular entries to our country, have halved compared to Italy, for example".
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Writing to home secretary Shabana Mahmood and foreign secretary Ed Miliband, Dame Priti Patel demanded strengthened procedures at both the English Channel and Gibraltar.
She asked the Labour figures: "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?" and "have you assessed the risk of these migrants travelling towards 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 told the Labour government that some of those who crossed would now inevitably try to reach Britain.
The Spanish government deployed military units to North African enclave as migrants surged by sea and land into the territory - one of only three land borders with Europe on the African continent.
Video footage showed thousands of migrants, mostly young men, swimming or floating on inner tubes from the Moroccan side, and others breaking through a gate on land and running into the city.
At least 57 migrants died trying to reach the enclave.
Italy announced it is suspending the EU's border-free Schengen arrangements with Spain for one month in response to the mass influx.
And, Donald Trump has weighed in on the situation calling it as a "catastrophe".
On Friday evening, the US President described the ongoing incident as: "an invasion of a country by hundreds of thousands of people."
He added that the Spanish government "don't know what to do and it's happening again today."
"They're coming in by the thousands— tens of thousands. They're just invading the country."
He added that "nobody's seen anything like it."
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Cars were seen burning on the streets back on the Moroccan side of the Melilla border as hundreds waited their turn to try and jump the fence. Fires were reportedly started by frustrated arsonists denied passage.
Hundreds even converged on a supermarket, where staff were forced to let a few men through a huge gate at a time.
It is estimated that over 37,000 of people who had crossed the border by land and sea already heading back voluntarily.
It was initially reported that around 49,000 migrants crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in the space of just one day, as they rushed by sea and land from Morocco, but this is now estimated to be around 60,000.
The images coming from Ceuta are unacceptable.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 31, 2026
We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules.
Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow.
I tasked two Commissioners…
European Council president Ursula Von Der Leyen posted online: "The images coming from Ceuta are unacceptable.
"We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules.
"Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow."
It comes as the British Government offered support to Spain as the flow of migrants continues, Andy Burnham has said on Friday.
Speaking on Friday, the Prime Minister was asked about migrant crossings throughout Europe, including over the English Channel to the UK.
“It’s a concerning situation and I know people will see those scenes and want something to be done, more to be done,” he replied.
“What I have done is firstly keep the current Home Secretary (Shabana Mahmood) in place because the plan she has implemented has started to make a difference.
“Although this is the peak period of the year for crossings, overall the number of crossings is down, the number of removals of people is up.
“So, there is progress, but we both recognise that we need to do more.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp warned that if the migrants who crossed into Ceuta can access the European continent, then “there is nothing to stop them coming straight to Calais and trying to get a boat across the Channel”.
The Conservative frontbencher said: “The Spanish government should expel them straight back to Morocco and certainly not allow any onto the Spanish mainland.
“If these illegal immigrants do make it to Spain, then the EU’s borderless Schengen zone means there is nothing to stop them coming straight to Calais and trying to get a boat across the Channel here.
“Spain’s border crisis could rapidly become our border crisis.”