The UK and France have unveiled an expanded migration deal that will seek to curb the growing number of asylum seekers coming to Britain by crossing the English Channel in small boats.
The two countries have been in negotiations for months over the renewal of longstanding arrangements to police the Channel.
More than 40,000 people have crossed the Channel so far this year, up from 28,526 in 2021, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. Many of them are Albanians, with others coming from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.
The British government is coming under increasing pressure from Conservative MPs to stop people reaching the UK in small boats, many organised by trafficking gangs. There have also been concerns about safety after some people drowned while attempting the crossing.
The deal includes an increase in payments from London to Paris and a closer relationship between the border policing teams of the two countries. The annual amount paid by the UK to France is expected to increase to €72mn in 2022-23, from €62.7mn in 2021-22.
A total of €200mn has been sent since 2018 from London to Paris to police the border. France spends a total of €250mn each year on all matters related to the British border.
Under the revamped agreement, French officials said the number of officers patrolling to stop small boat crossings will increase from 200 up to 300 by the middle of next year, with the cost of the additional monitoring covered by UK funds. In 2018, there were just 90 officers patrolling.
A French operations centre will be reinforced. Officers from the British border force will be present as observers for the first time, but this will be done while respecting France’s sovereignty.
One observer from the British border police will be allowed in France, and one French officer will be present on the UK side. The aim is to pursue better information sharing between the two governments.
French officials said they had stopped more than half of the Channel crossings attempted so far this year to November 10: 982 out of about 1,900.
“There is a need for Franco-British co-operation on this problem,” said French government spokesman Olivier Véran. “If we act separately, each one on their side [of the]Channel, it will not work. We must work together in a resolute, determined manner, and we will do so.”
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak welcomed the deal and said it was an example of “only by working with other countries can you make progress on the things that impact people at home”.
Speaking to reporters en route to the G20 summit in Bali, Sunak said he was pleased there would be a 40 per cent increase in patrols and co-operation between British and French border officials. “But that is not the end of our co-operation and the agreement should be a foundation for even greater co-operation in the months ahead,” he added.
Meanwhile Robert Jenrick, UK immigration minister, vowed to clamp down on asylum seekers being placed in British hotels at a cost of £5.6mn a day, saying the “generosity” towards refugees was being “abused”.
In an article for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Jenrick said: “‘Hotel Britain’ must end, and be replaced with simple, functional accommodation that does not create an additional pull factor.”
He also set out a 10-point plan to tackle the migration crisis, including a fast-track deportation scheme for Albanians.
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