French: UK broke £54m vow to stop migrants

MORE than 1,100 migrants crossed the Channel in two days as France accused the UK of holding back £54million in funding to tackle the crisis.

A newborn baby and young children were among those on board at least 40 small boats which have arrived in Britain since Friday.

It comes as French police were filmed watching idly as dozens of migrants launched two dinghies from a beach near Calais on Friday.

But French interior minister Gerald Darmanin appeared to blame the surge on the UK for not fulfilling its promise to pay £54million to France to help tackle the crisis.

‘For now, not one euro has been paid,’ he said. ‘We are asking the British to keep their promises of financing because we are holding the border for them.’

Home Secretary Priti Patel has threatened to withhold the payments for beach patrols in northern France if officials did not reduce the stream of migrant boats.

‘For now, not one euro has been paid’

But Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said Miss Patel ‘needs to come clean’ over her strategy to tackle the issue. He said the fact that more than 1,100 people crossed to the UK in only two days showed that withholding money from France ‘clearly isn’t working’.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘This year, record numbers of people have put their lives in the hands of ruthless people smugglers and risked perilous channel crossings from French beaches.

‘Joint co-operation with the French has led to nearly 300 arrests, 65 convictions and prevented more than 13,500 crossings. But with hundreds still risking their lives and making the crossing, all sides must do more.’

Dan O’Mahoney, Channel threat commander for the Home Office, said: ‘The Government is determined to tackle the unacceptable rise in dangerous Channel crossings, using every tool at our disposal, at every stage in the journey.’

Since the start of the year, more than 18,000 people have succeeded in reaching the UK on small boats, compared with just over 8,460 in 2020.