UK to pay France another £660m to curb Channel crossings | Migration

The UK government has agreed to pay France a further £660 million to reduce the number of asylum seekers traveling across the Channel; This includes plans to fund a riot squad to “contain and disperse” people trying to board small boats.

Under the three-year agreement to be signed by Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood on Thursday, 1,100 law enforcement, intelligence and military officers – a 40% increase – will be deployed to track smuggling gangs and people seeking asylum.

A 50-man riot police team will be trained in “crowd control tactics” and will “stop illegal immigrants in their tracks”, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The UK money is expected to fund batons, shields and tear gas to combat “hostile crowds and violent tactics”.

The announcement came after lengthy negotiations between the two countries over how to stop unauthorized small boat cruises and who would bear most of the costs. The previous three-year deal worth £478 million collapsed on 31 March.

Organizations representing asylum seekers have said plans to fund policing tactics such as riot control would mean further brutalization of people who have no alternative if they seek asylum in the UK.

Sile Reynolds, head of asylum advocacy at the charity Freedom from Torture, said it was a “deeply worrying” escalation, adding: “We will now pay for police boats and batons to be used indiscriminately on men, women and children on the beaches of Northern France for the crime of seeking safety.

“Many of the people who will be harmed by these harsh tactics have already been subjected to state violence in their flight from persecution. Now they will face the full brutality of the French riot police, a security body criticized by the United Nations committee against torture for its excessive use of force.”

Imran Hussain, Director of External Relations at the Refugee Council, said: “By focusing on policing the Canal, the government is treating the symptom, not the cause. Police alone will not stop desperate people turning to dangerous small boats.

“We know from our frontline services why people are risking their lives to reach the UK: many already speak some English, have family here or have cultural connections to Britain. Without safe routes to reach the UK, these men, women and children will be forced into dangerous and potentially fatal small boat crossings.”

French police used tear gas, stun grenades and pepper spray to stop people boarding boats across the Canal. But for the first time, the UK will fund a riot squad specifically to combat irregular migration.

The new deal includes a base package of around £500 million to step up enforcement measures on beaches in northern France. The agreement will cover:

Five new police units, including 50 officers who will receive training in the use of crowd control.

An additional 20 maritime officers to target and intercept small boats picking up refugees in shallow waters. In the past two months, French authorities have stopped six “taxi boats” and sentenced smugglers to prison and deportation, the Interior Ministry said.

Expansion of the 18-person intelligence unit to 30 experts to accelerate the arrest and prosecution of human traffickers.

Two new helicopters and a camera system to track and intercept people smugglers and people trying to cross into the UK.

The government has also set aside £160 million “to trial new approaches” but the Home Office did not respond to requests for details of what these might be. In the statement, it was stated that England will spend £50 million in the first year of this arrangement.

It says that if the initial investment does not make an impact, the government will retain the remaining £110 million in years two and three, billing it as the first “pay for results” scheme at the Channel.

The Labor Party, which is predicted to lose its parliament to Nigel Farage’s Reform England in local elections, has faced increasing pressure from political opponents to stop irregular immigration.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement: “Our work with the French has already stopped tens of thousands of crossings and this government has deported or returned nearly 60,000 people who had no right to be here. This historic agreement means we can go even further: increasing intelligence, surveillance and boots on the ground to protect Britain’s borders.”

Mahmood said: “This landmark deal will stop illegal immigrants making this dangerous journey and put people smugglers behind bars.”

Earlier this month, a Sudanese man was charged in the deaths of four migrants who drowned when they were caught in strong currents while trying to cross the English Channel. More than 6,000 people came to the UK this year after making the journey; This figure decreased by 36% compared to the same period last year.