French union say ‘non’ to migrant crackdown as drive to impose new hardline tactics stalls over police safety fears

Sir Keir Starmer is facing fresh embarrassment over his promise to ‘smash gangs’ after French police refused to stop small-boat migrants from crossing the Channel by disabling their ships.

Unions representing officers blocked police plans to stop the boats using tactics such as jamming the propellers, on the grounds that they could face prosecution if any migrants died.

This comes despite a year of talks between Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron over the interventions and the payment of £500 million to France by the Government. In exchange for money covering a three-year period, Paris is expected to take action to prevent migrants from reaching British shores.

In a letter Sir Keir wrote to Mr Macron last month, the Prime Minister said: ‘It is crucial that we implement these tactics this month’ and added: ‘We do not have an effective deterrent in the channel.’

But now the Alliance, France’s largest police union, has said it is too dangerous for its members to make arrests while trying to force a boat at sea to change course.

A source at the French interior ministry told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Police want guarantees that there will be no prosecution in the event of death or injury, but prosecutors say this is impossible. Negotiations between lawyers and police chiefs took place last month, but judicial authorities remain firm; There will be no waiver of criminal liability if things go wrong.

‘Any intervention at sea is extremely dangerous and this risk must be accepted by those involved in the control of migrant boats.’

Last night the Home Office tried to put on a brave face in the face of the latest failure; A source insisted the Government was “committed to working in partnership” with the French to “reduce small boat crossings and break the pattern of criminal smuggling gangs”.

Sir Keir Starmer is facing fresh embarrassment over his promise to “smash gangs” after French police refused to stop small-boat migrants from crossing the Channel by disabling their craft (photographed with French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month)

But the Conservatives said the statement showed it was a serious mistake for Labor to scrap Rishi Sunak’s plan to deter immigrants by threatening to deport them to Rwanda.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘Keir Starmer promised to intervene at sea close to the French coast and this has proven to be another stunt that will not come true; just like the claim to crush gangs and bring back many illegal immigrants.

‘Starmer himself admitted there was no deterrent. Canceling Rwanda just before it started was a huge mistake, and as a result illegal immigrants have flocked to the channel since the election.

‘The Conservatives’ plan is to exit the European Convention on Human Rights, which would allow us to deport all illegal immigrants within a week of their arrival. Then the transitions will soon stop.’

The move by civil servants, who held emergency meetings with the legislature, came despite orders from French local authorities last month to introduce tougher response measures along key parts of the Channel and North Sea coastlines.

These included stopping boats off the coast of Calais and Dunkirk, where thousands of migrants leave for England each week.

The plans were at the center of negotiations between London and Paris last year; During this time, more than 40,000 migrants had crossed the Channel in small boats. Most were refugees from countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Eritrea and Sudan.

The French Maritime Gendarmerie is preparing to start new operations, initially focusing on ports and rivers leading to the sea.

The interior ministry source said that during the interventions police had to “order the boats to stop” before “immobilising the boats, directing them back to France and then handing over those on board to the authorities”.

But a senior Alliance source said: ‘People don’t realize how dangerous it is to make an arrest while forcing a boat to change course at sea. ‘If there are 80 people, including women and children, on an overcrowded boat, it is extremely dangerous to try to stop them.’

A group of migrants leave Petit-Fort-Philippe beach in northern France by inflatable boat and cross the English Channel to try to reach Britain in September 2025.

The French Navy also objected to intervention at sea. A senior officer said: ‘Disasters, including drownings, can easily occur.’

France’s previous interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, approved a plan to allow naval interventions in certain situations, including in shallow waters, but those plans appear to have been shelved.

His successor, former Paris police chief Laurent Nunez, is understood to be concerned about the dangers the new tactics pose to officers on duty. “He accepts that interfering with boats at sea is extremely dangerous and should be avoided at all costs,” a French National Police source said.

Martin Hewitt, the UK’s head of border security, has expressed ‘disappointment’ at France’s delay in implementing a new ‘maritime doctrine’ which sees patrol boats attempt to stop inflatable boats at sea.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Independent operational matters are the responsibility of the French authorities. France remains a critical partner in securing our borders, and our joint work has prevented more than 22,000 small boat crossing attempts this year.

‘The Home Secretary has introduced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal immigration in modern times. ‘These new reforms will restore order and control to our borders, remove the incentives that attract people to the UK illegally and increase deportations of those who have no right to live on British soil.’

A Home Office source said: ‘This government has transformed the UK’s illegal immigration relationship with France. ‘Our historic one-in-one exit plan means we can now send small boat arrivals back to France and we are working to increase this.’