Channel crossings continue as fresh deal struck with France
British immigration staff will be posted to French control rooms for the first time in a bid to curb the number of migrants making the journey.
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Your support makes all the difference.More migrants arrived in the UK as the Government signed a fresh multi-million-pound deal with France in a bid to curb Channel crossings.
The agreement, hiking the figure paid to France by the UK to around 72 million euros (Ā£63 million) in 2022/23, will see British officers stationed in French control rooms for the first time and a 40% boost in beach patrols along the countryās northern coastline.
The latest effort aimed at tackling the migrant crisis comes as the number of people arriving on the south coast after making the journey topped 40,000 for the year so far, with crossings continuing on Monday.
Rishi Sunak said the move would contribute to his efforts to āgrip illegal migrationā and that he was āconfidentā numbers would come down over time, although he declined to guarantee they would fall next year.
But critics lambasted the deal, with Conservative MP for Dover Natalie Elphicke saying it āfalls short of what is neededā.
Further measures signed off earlier in Paris by Home Secretary Suella Braverman and French interior minister Gerald Darmanin include drones and night vision equipment to help officers detect crossings, as well as stepping up surveillance around ports to prevent migrants entering the UK in lorries, with more CCTV and sniffer dogs.
The āactivity will begin with immediate effectā, a Home Office policy paper detailing the agreement said, with the rise in French officers on beach patrols taking place āin the next five monthsā.
The Prime Minister told broadcasters ahead of the G20 summit in Bali: āIām confident that we can get the numbers down.
āBut I also want to be honest with people that it isnāt a single thing that will magically solve this. We canāt do it overnight.
āBut people should be absolutely reassured that this is a top priority for me. Thereās lots more that we need to do.ā
Ms Elphicke said: āIt doesnāt match the scale or urgency of the small boats crisis, or the increased risk of loss of life as winter approaches.ā
Human rights group Amnesty International UK said the deal was no different from previous agreements and accused the Government of ārecycling the same failed responseā, while the Refugee Council said the move would ādo little to end the crossingsā.
Describing the agreement as a āsmall step in the right directionā, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told broadcasters this was āa much bigger challenge that the Government still isnāt grippingā and warned of the cost to taxpayers.
Ms Braverman, who is to meet neighbouring countries āas soon as possibleā and will travel to Frankfurt later this week to discuss tackling serious organised crime with her G7 counterparts, said the ācomplexā problem was a āglobal challengeā which governments must work together to solve, adding: āWe must do everything we can to stop people making these dangerous journeys and crack down on the criminal gangs.
āThere are no quick fixes but this new arrangement will mean we can significantly increase the number of French gendarmes patrolling the beaches in northern France and ensure UK and French officers are working hand in hand to stop the people smugglers.ā
More than 1,800 migrants arrived in the UK over the weekend marking the first Channel crossings in November after an 11-day hiatus amid bad weather.
Government figures show 972 people arrived in 22 boats on Saturday, followed by 853 people in 26 boats on Sunday, taking the provisional total for the year so far to 41,729. Total crossings last year were 28,526.
The increase in beach patrols in northern France would āincrease early detectionā, Downing Street said, while the presence of British police joining French law enforcement as observers in control rooms and on approaches to beaches is meant to improve understanding of the threat at hand and help inform deployments.
Other measures to be introduced as part of the deal include establishing a new taskforce to address the ārecent rise in Albanians and organised crime groups exploiting illegal migration routesā into Western Europe and the UK, No 10 said.
Meanwhile, Britain and France also pledged to ramp up co-operation on the matter, with a meeting of the āCalais Groupā of neighbouring countries to be scheduled as soon as possible.
The deal sees the two countries promise to share more intelligence and invest in reception centres in the south of France to ādeterā migrants coming into the country from the Mediterranean from āmoving to the Channel coastā to attempt crossings.
There will also be French removal centres for migrants prevented from crossing to the UK who opt to be returned back to their own country where it is āappropriate, safe and legalā, Home Office papers said.