People traffickers are adapting their methods in a bid to circumvent Labour’s ‘smash the gangs’ strategy, officials have confirmed.

Enhanced policing designed to block the traffickers – such as by seizing boats and outboard motors – has seen gangs ‘experiment’ with using ‘mega dinghies’ on the Channel.

They are also deploying co-ordinated dinghy launches from a wider area of the French and Belgian coast in a bid to evade detection.

But despite a 43 per cent reduction in the number of migrants reaching Britain year-on-year there is still the same level of demand for illegal crossings in migrant camps in northern France, it is understood.

Officials believe smugglers’ use of the extra-large vessels – which are longer than a double-decker bus – increases the risk of a mass tragedy.

An incident on Tuesday involving a mega-dinghy with 173 people aboard saw them rescued in a major operation after its motor caught fire.

The terrifying scenes off the French coast were the closest to a ‘mass casualty incident’ that has been seen on the Channel in years, officials admitted.

The Government scrapped the Conservatives’ Rwanda asylum deal shortly after the 2024 General Election and instead attempted to tackle the small boats crisis through improved work by police and other law enforcement agencies.

A ‘mega dinghy’ crossed the Channel last month with 165 people aboard

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood secured a new security deal with the French in April that will see £662million handed over by the British taxpayer over three years.

Officials have insisted it is having an effect, despite Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp last month observing at first hand how gendarmes refused to intervene as migrants scrambled aboard a dinghy.

Director of maritime and small boats at the Home Office’s Border Security Command, Charlie Eastaugh, said: ‘The incidents we have seen in the Channel over the last few weeks are a stark reminder of the dangers posed by criminal gangs exploiting people for profit.

‘It is easy to look at out-of-context images and think little is happening to stop these crossings – this is simply not true.

‘Our efforts are having an impact and are seriously disrupting the smuggling gangs.’

The French have stopped ten dinghies at sea since a change in policy was introduced in the spring after years of lobbying by the British Government, officials confirmed.

Mr Eastaugh insisted the French were ‘tirelessly’ working to disrupt launches before they reach UK shores.

However, it is understood that Home Office intelligence reports suggest there is no shortage of custom for the traffickers.

Camps in northern France continue to offer a steady supply of people willing to risk their lives crossing the Channel illegally.

Officials said they remain conscious of the possibility that traffickers may attempt to carry on bringing illegal migrants to the UK through other routes – such as clandestinely in the back of lorries – as work continues to suppress small boat crossings.

A Home Office source said: ‘Numbers are down, but we are not complacent.

‘This Government is focused on what works – and our work is beginning to bear fruit.’