Fewer migrants are being stopped from crossing the Channel since Sir Keir Starmer struck his small boats deal with French president Emmanuel Macron, sparking anger in the Home Office.
Figures reported by The Telegraph show French police are now preventing just 28.7 per cent of attempted crossings, compared with 38 per cent before the deal began in August.
The agreement was meant to toughen France’s approach, with elite officers moving in at sea, up to 300 metres from the beaches, to block the people smugglers’ dinghies before they reached British waters. But the new tactics have been delayed, as French police worry that trying to stop fragile boats at sea could put lives at risk.
British officials are said to be furious that the promised crackdown has not materialised. People smugglers have even started using videos online showing French police standing by as migrants head for the Channel, claiming it proves how easy the crossings are.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp slammed the results as “lamentable”. He said, “Preventing only a quarter of embarkation attempts is pathetic. No wonder migrants are using videos of French police standing around to illustrate how easy it is to cross.”
Mr Philp said he saw the problem first-hand in Calais over the summer. “French police were ushering illegal immigrants onto a public bus towards embarkation points,” he said. “We have seen 2,000 illegal immigrants cross in a four-day period recently. The Government has lost control of our borders.”
Figures show that 8,521 crossings were stopped in the 13 weeks before the deal, compared with 4,635 after it took effect. Arrivals in the UK fell only slightly, from 13,920 to 11,518.
Jim McConalogue, chief executive of the Civitas think tank, which first identified the drop, said the results were worrying. “Given the purpose of the deal and its deterrent effect, we should ask questions as to why, in the presence of a small decrease in arrivals following the deal, we are looking at an over 45 per cent drop in migrants being stopped,” he said.
Martin Hewitt, head of the Border Security Command, has already voiced frustration to French officials over the delay in tougher action. He told MPs he had met the senior general leading the operation “to really press the point” about how important the sea-based tactics were for Britain, adding, “It is frustrating that it’s taken the time that it has.”
A Home Office spokesman said, “We are furious at the level of illegal migrants entering the country on small boats. Joint operations with the French have intercepted over 20,000 illegal migrants entering the country over the last year. However, we must go further with the French to prevent boats entering our waters and scale up the removal of illegal migrants. The Government will do whatever it takes to secure our borders.”
So far this year, more than 39,000 migrants have crossed the Channel, an 18 per cent rise on the same period last year, and close to the record total seen in 2022.
Based on reporting by The Telegraph.
Main Image by Kim Rye.
