Hundreds of French officers and millions of pounds worth of drones and helicopters will be assigned to beaches in Northern France to tackle small boats after a breakthrough deal was reached
Hundreds more police officers will patrol beaches in Northern France to stop small boat crossings after a new deal was finally reached.
Millions of pounds worth of drones and helicopters will be used to survey and prevent smugglers from packing dangerous vessels with migrants. The agreement will also see a 40% surge in officers assigned to stop small boats in France – with the UK warning that funding will stop without results.
For the first time, payments will be dependent on reducing the number of people reaching the UK. At the moment 750 police, intelligence and military officers are assigned to the French coastline. This will rise to 1,100 under the agreement, which follows weeks of deadlock after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood pushed to improve a deal reached by the Tories.
The deal will see £500million invested to boost enforcement action. A further £160million will be spent if measures are successful. But campaigners warn focusing on policing the Channel alone will not work – with an expansion of safe routes the key way to tackle smuggling gangs.
READ MORE: Fury as ‘online mega-brothels’ allowed to operate in open despite sex trafficking fearsREAD MORE: Defiant Keir Starmer lashes out at critics calling on him to quit at bad-tempered PMQs
Announcing the agreement, Keir Starmer said: “We must restore order and control to our borders. That means bearing down on these dangerous crossings and bringing people smugglers to justice.
“Our work with the French has already stopped tens of thousands of crossings, and this government has deported or returned nearly 60,000 people with no right to be here.
“This historic agreement means we can go further: ramping up intelligence, surveillance and boots on the ground to protect Britain’s borders.”
A new riot police unit trained to deal with hostile crowds will be set up to disperse groups on beaches. And a French intelligence unit will nearly double in size from 18 to 30 officers.
There will also be a new focus on targeting taxi boats – which pick up people in waist-deep water after launching from further up the coast. French authorities will assign an additional 20 maritime officers and a new vessel to intercepting these boats.
So far this year at least six people have died attempting to cross the Channel. Over 6,000 people have successfully reached the UK since January 1.
Figures released by the Home Office show over 42,000 people attempting to cross the Channel have been stopped since July 2024, when Labour came to power. And last year 480 suspected traffickers were arrested.
Under the previous deal, reached when Rishi Sunak was PM in 2023, the UK agreed to pay France £476million over three years to stop small boats. Earlier this year a £16million stopgap was agreed as the latest terms were hammered out.
Ms Mahmood said: “Our work with the French has stopped tens of thousands of illegal migrants boarding boats headed to Britain.
“But we must do more. This landmark deal will stop illegal migrants making the perilous journey and put people smugglers behind bars.”
The deal will be front-loaded – so the surge in officers happens in the summer, when small boat crossings peak.
It comes as the Home Secretary pushes through a string of measures which she believes will discourage migrants from coming to the UK. These include 30 month reviews of refugee status – meaning people could be sent back to their homeland if it is deemed safe.
The Government is also looking at offering payments to failed asylum seekers – including families with children – to leave the UK.
Imran Hussain, director of external affairs at Refugee Council, said: “By focusing on policing the Channel, the government is treating the symptom not the cause. Policing alone will not prevent desperate people from turning to dangerous small boats in the first place.
“We know from our frontline services why people risk their lives to reach the UK: many already speak some English, have family here, or have cultural connections to Britain. After fleeing brutal persecution and war in countries like Afghanistan and Sudan, they just want to rebuild their lives in peace.
“But the government has shut down the few safe and legal pathways available, including family reunion, a route that overwhelmingly helped women and children.
“Without safe routes to reach the UK, these men, women and children will be forced into dangerous and potentially deadly small boat crossings.” And Sile Reynolds, head of asylum advocacy at Freedom from Torture, said: “Now, we will be paying for police boots and batons to be wielded indiscriminately against men, women and children on the beaches of northern France for the crime of seeking safety.
“This UK-funded brutality will be unleashed on survivors of the most unimaginable horrors of torture and war, fleeing notorious conflict and persecution in Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan and Somalia.”