Keir Starmer makes extraordinary 6-word small boat crisis admission | Politics | News
Sir Keir Starmer admitted there was “no effective deterrent in the Channel” as the French government finally agreed to step up efforts to stop small boat crossings. In a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister said it was “essential that we introduce tactics this month” to combat dangerous journeys.
France is understood to have finally decided to implement tactics designed to intercept small boats in the Channel, after months of pressure from Starmer and the Home Office. But the new tactics will only allow French authorities to stop the boats before they fill up with migrants. France had previously announced it would review its maritime rules, allowing police to intervene when boats are in shallow water rather than requiring them to be on land.
But change appeared to have stalled, with UK border security commander Martin Hewitt telling MPs last month it was “frustrating” that it was taking time to introduce the rules.
A spokesman for No 10 said: “As you know, we never comment on reported reports of leaks of private correspondence.
“You know that the Prime Minister and President Macron talk regularly about this issue, and we always want to further our work with our French partners on the fight against illegal immigration.
“We continue to cooperate closely with the French and have prevented more than 20,000 crossings this year.
“This close cooperation clearly includes our ground-breaking one-in, one-out plan and, for the first time ever, we have secured agreement from the French to review their maritime response so that border enforcement teams can intervene in shallow waters.”
According to French newspaper Le Monde, the Prime Minister wrote a letter to Macron earlier this month, while a document dated November 25 was drawn up setting out the framework within which French authorities could intervene in crossings.
The BBC said French maritime police confirmed that French security forces will be allowed to stop small boats at sea, but only before passengers are picked up.
The move comes as 39,292 people have traveled across the Channel so far this year.
The number of arrivals exceeded the total for 2024 (36,816) and 2023 (29,437), but the number is below the total for 2022 (45,774).
Commenting on the reports, Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith said: “This is a dangerous moment that will cost more lives.
“Stopping boats while they’re on the water has never been done before because quite frankly it puts people at risk.”
He also rejected the idea that “enforcement” or “deterrence” had reduced crossings, saying they would force people to take more dangerous measures to reach the UK.
“The only way to stop channel crossings is to create safe routes for people to seek asylum in the UK,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Home Office confirmed on Thursday that 153 migrants had been sent back to France and 134 had arrived in the UK under the UK-France repatriation deal, which aims to deter people from making the dangerous journey across the Channel.
Within the scope of the “one in, one out” pilot scheme that came into force with France in August, people arriving in the UK by small boat can be detained and sent back to France in exchange for an equivalent number of people applying through a safe and legal route.
