Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
France can overturn It vows to forcefully return small boats In According to reports, the channel blow to the head keir starmerThere is a plan to stop the number of migrants Coming to Britain.
France is backing away from the commitment amid political turmoil in the French government, according to sources who spoke to the BBC.
then home secretary Yvette Cooper In April it was said that it had “persuaded France to change its rules”, with the French agreeing to intervene to stop crossings when migrants are in the water.
Previously, French police had not taken proactive measures against migrants wading into the water because of the threat to life. Ms Cooper promised in April that changes would come “over the next few months”, and French police officers were filmed by the media in July going into shallow water and cutting an inflatable small boat with a knife.
Now sources have told the BBC that the plan to stop the boats has been stopped. A person involved in French maritime security said it was “just a political stunt”.
.jpeg)
The Maritime Prefecture of the Channel also said that the new plan was “still being studied”.
The plan was agreed when Yvette Cooper was Home Secretary and Bruno Retailleau was French Interior Minister. Both are no longer in office, with Ms Cooper having moved to the Foreign Office and Mr Retailleau, of the conservative Republican Party. When Sébastien Lecornu was made Prime Minister of France, he left the government,
A spokesman for the French charity Utopia 56, which supports refugees waiting to make the dangerous crossing to Britain, told Independent He did not see the police adopting new tactics.
But he added: “However, the police presence is still really significant and there is often the use of violence. They do not hesitate to sometimes wade into the water to cut off boats – something they have been doing since 2022. The latter also involves completely abandoning people in crisis.”
French police have used push-and-pull tactics with people in their overseas territories for many years reportedly dying or disappearing At sea after a confrontation between migrant boats and police.
French border police boats have been seen on video chasing migrant boats near the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte.
The news comes after a migrant who was deported back to France Under the “one in, one out” scheme Returned to the UK after crossing the Channel on a small boat.
The government has promised to deport the person, with Children’s Minister Josh McAllister saying that if people do return they will be deported “again and again”.
He told Times Radio on Thursday: “The message from the government is really clear, if you come here illegally and cross, as we extend this French return agreement, you will be deported.
“You will go back to France. The money you have spent will be wasted. And if you do this again and again you will be returned again and again.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We will do whatever it takes to secure our borders and stop migrants entering the country on small boats.
“France is an important partner in combating illegal migration, and we continue to work together as they review their maritime doctrine, which will allow authorities to intervene in shallow waters. We want to see the deployment of these new strategies as soon as possible.
“And thanks to our historic agreement with the French, people crossing in small boats can now be detained and removed.”