Ministers are frustrated that the French are not doing more to stop boats carrying migrants as Belgium interventions have succeeded in blocking crossings from its shores.
The concerns have emerged after six Afghan migrants died on Saturday when their overcrowded dinghy sank around four miles off the coast of France.
The French have succeeded in increasing the number of migrants being intercepted on the beaches, before they set sail, after Rishi Sunak agreed a £480 million deal with President Emmanuel Macron to put more officers on the ground and boost French-UK cooperation.
Once the boats have left the beaches, however, the French maintain a policy of not intervening in the water unless a dinghy is in distress and the migrants are believed likely to cooperate.
It has resulted in French navy patrol vessels shadowing or escorting boats to British waters in the centre of the Channel because of migrants’ refusal to be rescued by the French and the risks if their officers tried to do so.
A source admitted there was “frustration” within the Government over the approach. “That is a different policy to Belgium for example, which does intervene in the water, manages to do so safely and has largely ended small boat crossings from its shores,” said the source.
‘France must do more’
It came as the Home Office confirmed 509 people crossed the English Channel in 10 boats on the day the six migrants died, taking the total for the year to more than 16,000 including 1,600 over the three days to Saturday.
Former minister Tim Loughton, a member of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, said the French needed to toughen their approach by intervening at sea and arresting migrants on the beaches rather than simply letting them go so they could try again the following night.
“The French are allowed [to intervene at sea] and in fact in some experts who came to the committee said they are obliged to because crimes are being committed and lives are at risk,” he said.
“But they don’t, so I’m afraid the French have got a greater role to play because they could stop this whole business overnight if they were to intercept, arrest and detain those people coming over.”
The new deal with France is increasing the number of French officers dedicated to patrolling the beaches from 200 to 700 during the course of this year. The Government revealed in March it had contributed to an increase in migrant interceptions from 42 per cent to 53 per cent.
However, the National Crime Agency (NCA) believes that it needs to be raised to 80 or 90 per cent to make the people smugglers business model untenable.
Adverts were on Sunday still being posted on social media promoting crossings at prices of £3,500 per person despite Saturday’s tragedy. The size of the boats and the number of people being carried on them has increased again this year, up to 70 from a maximum of 50 last year.
As well as the six who died on Saturday, at least 58 — many of them Afghans — were rescued after their boat got into difficulty off the coast of Sangatte on Saturday. None of the six who lost their lives were found with lifebelts despite the dangers of the crossing.
According to the accounts of survivors, around 65 people had originally boarded the overloaded vessel before a passing ship saw it sinking and raised the alarm at around 4.20am.
Warning of more crossings to come
Border Force has warned of a continued surge in numbers trying to cross, because of a build up in migrants in northern France after bad weather limited crossings during July.
Hervé Berville, France’s Minister for the Sea, said smugglers were now “saturating” the coast with people who wanted to get to Britain.
“The smugglers have a strategy of saturating the coast — they trigger simultaneous crossings between Dunkirk and Boulogne, to occupy the police,” he said.
Describing the situation overnight Friday to Saturday as a “a mess,” Mr Berville said: “Put 60 people on a boat in a force three or four wind, and it’s deadly.”
He described the smugglers as “criminals, who send young people, women, adults to their death, through these dangerous maritime routes.”
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9wb2xpdGljcy8yMDIzLzA4LzEzL21pbmlzdGVycy1mcnVzdHJhdGVkLWZyZW5jaC1mYWlsdXJlLXN0b3AtbWlncmFudC1jcm9zc2luZ3Mv0gEA?oc=5
2023-08-13 20:17:00Z
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