Tow migrants back to France, says Priti as ‘200 intercepted’
PRITI Patel last night told France to start towing boatloads of illegal migrants back to its shores – as numbers crossing the Channel to England surged to near-record levels.
Up to 200 migrants were intercepted by Border Force patrols off the British coast yesterday in what is feared to be a new daily record.
The crossings came as the Home Secretary met her new
French counterpart Gerald Darmanin in Calais to push for fresh action to curb the ‘unacceptable’ daily crossings and tackle the ruthless people-smuggling gangs behind them.
The two ministers agreed to establish a small joint intelligence unit based in Coquelles, near Calais, where UK Border Force and
National Crime Agency officers will work alongside their French counterparts. Mr Darmanin said the new unit will consist of six British and six French police officers.
But Miss Patel also demanded fresh action from France to halt the crossings and take back those who make it to the UK illegally.
A Home Office source said: ‘ She talked about the collective experience of officials in the room saying, “It is not beyond us in this room to create a plan for returns at sea.” She was also clear that going forward we will be returning these people back to France.’
Miss Patel is said to have demanded that the French navy intercept migrants and tow their
‘This simply cannot be allowed to go on’
boats back to shore. She also requested permission for Border Force cutters to return illegal migrants picked up in the Channel directly to France rather than having to take them to the UK.
A Home Office source said Mr Darmanin, who has been in post for less than a week, had agreed to ‘ do things differently’, but it was unclear what, if any, additional action he will take.
The source added: ‘Priti is incredibly unhappy with the number of small boats making this journey. ’ Speaking after yesterday’s talks, the Home Secretary acknowledged that France was conducting ‘significant’ work to tackle the problem, but said numbers remained ‘unacceptably high’.
‘This simply cannot be allowed to go on,’ she said. ‘I have signed an agreement with the French to create a joint intelligence cell which will crack down on the gangs behind this vile people smuggling operation and impressed on my French counterpart the need to stop these illegal crossings for the benefit of both our countries.’
Mr Darmanin said: ‘Together, we must strengthen our security cooperation, in particular in the fight against the illegal crossings of the English Channel by migrants risking their lives.’
Miss Patel is under intense pressure to get on top of a problem she had previously pledged to have all but eradicated by now.
While she was in Calais for talks yesterday, a dozen small boats were detected in the Channel carrying scores of migrants in the opposite direction.
The final tally was unconfirmed last night, but sources said it was likely to exceed the previous single-day record of 166, set on June 3.
So far this year a total of at least 2,438 people have made the illegal Channel crossing, compared with 1,850 during the whole of 2019. Sources said many had claimed asylum on arrival, complicating the process of removing them. Twenty- seven people attempted the crossing in four boats on Saturday. When yesterday’s number is confirmed it is likely to take the total above 2,600.