French migrant patrols mostly funded by British taxpayers with £155m bill | UK | News
This amount was announced by the French government (Image: Getty)
It has been revealed that 62% of the money spent on patrols in northern France is paid by UK taxpayers. The French government has confirmed that £155 million of the £250 million paid to fund police patrols, security equipment, sea rescues and new infrastructure came from the UK.
The funding comes from a £475 million three-year deal established by Rishi Sunak in March 2023 to tackle illegal immigration. Laurent Touvet, head of the French interior ministry’s DGEF migration directorate, confirmed the amount at a meeting on French-British cooperation on cross-Channel migration.
“The UK’s contribution to tackling illegal immigration is estimated to be around 62 per cent of the total, with France responsible for 38 per cent.”
READ MORE: ‘Starmer is bringing the UK into disrepute no matter the cost – Labor is fawning over’
READ MORE: Labor tearing itself apart in bitter immigration row – anger palpable
Agreement aimed to combat small boat crossings (Image: Getty)
The deal is expected to close at the end of this month and the new contract has not yet been finalised.
In a joint statement published last July, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron said a new three-year funding arrangement covering 2026-2029 would be agreed “as soon as possible”.
This statement comes at a time when questions are increasing about the effectiveness of UK-French cooperation in tackling Channel crossings.
New figures published by the Home Office on Thursday show that just 377 migrants who arrived on small boats were returned to France under the “one in, one out” plan agreed by Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron last July.
This represents around 2 per cent of the 18,790 migrants who have arrived in the UK on small boats since the deal came into force in August.
Under the mutual terms of the agreement, France transferred 380 refugees to the UK.
The effectiveness of the new plan announced by Starmer and Macron was questioned (Image: Getty)
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced new legislation that will overhaul the UK’s asylum system as she presses for “robust but fair” action on immigration.
Ms Mahmood wants to make the UK a less attractive place for illegal immigrants.
According to new plans announced earlier this month, the refugee status of people granted asylum in the UK will be reviewed every 30 months, and refugees whose countries are deemed safe will be expected to return home.
According to current rules, those who are granted refugee status have this status for five years and can apply for indefinite leave to remain on the path to citizenship.
Under the new policy, refugees will need to renew their permit to stay like other legal immigrants or apply for a visa, including paying the associated fees.
The Home Secretary believes the government must cut immigration or risk opening the door to the right that will divide communities with anti-immigration raids seen in the US.
The government hopes reforms introduced through changes to the Immigration Rules will make the UK less attractive to illegal immigrants.
