French reject Patel’s migrant ‘pushback’

Former naval and Border Force chiefs warn Home Secretary over dangers of migrant turnaround plan

PRITI PATEL has been told to “come to her senses” by the French as they said her plans to “push back” migrants in the Channel would put lives at risk.

In an escalation of the diplomatic war of words, the French warned they would no longer co-operate with the UK to halt the surge in crossings if the Home Secretary “unilaterally” directed the Border Force to turn migrant boats back to French waters.

“We consider [the pushbacks] to be contrary to maritime law. People in danger must be brought to British shores and not into French waters,” said the French ministry of interior in a briefing last night. “We cannot co-operate serenely among neighbours if one of the neighbours takes unilateral measures. We cannot work like this. The cooperation would be put into question. We hope she will come to her senses because we really think it is in no one’s interest.

“When we act at sea, it is to help boats in distress. If we start intercepting boats on the water there is the risk that they will deliberately drown themselves.”

Gérald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, accused Ms Patel of “financial blackmail” over her threat to pull the £54million pledge by Britain to help France combat the migrant surge.

However, sources said last night that the Home Secretary was determined to press ahead with the “pushbacks” despite the French objections and warnings from former Border Force and naval chiefs that the tactics could lead to crowded boats capsizing. A source said: “With hundreds of migrants arriving a day, not taking action is not an option. We told France this was going to happen. They said they would publicly condemn it and we said we are going to do it anyway. Border Force is focused on saving people’s lives. To suggest anything else is absurd. We’re not going to do this to boats in danger.”

The Home Secretary is said to have “robust and detailed” legal advice from the Attorney General to permit the “pushback” tactics. They are being trialled by the Border Force at sea and will be ready to be deployed within weeks, once their safety has been approved.

PRITI Patel’s “pushback” plans for migrant boats could lead to “escalating tensions” between UK and French official vessels in the Channel, a former head of the Navy has warned.

“There’s a risk of escalation in our dealings with French boats if they haven’t got an agreement on this. It could raise tensions quite a lot,” said Admiral Lord West, a former first sea lord and chief of the naval staff. “I am not saying we are going to get war but people will get quite grumpy.”

He told The Daily Telegraph that he understood the Home Secretary’s “annoyance” at the failure of the French to halt crossings “maybe because they have put an Inspector Clouseau in charge,” but the pushback tactics were “problematic” and “not a clever idea.”

“I cannot see this is practical. There are risks of people being dropped into the sea and you forget how dangerous the sea is,” said Lord West, who was also a security minister under Labour.

“I am afraid the only way to stop this is if we have an agreement with the French that they accept back the migrants, so that if you pick up these people in the Channel we have permission to steam into a French port with our ships and drop them on the jetty there.”

France has consistently resisted UK demands for joint operations to intercept and return migrants at sea, calling them dangerous and a breach of international maritime law, which they claim only allows such interventions if the migrants ask to be rescued.

Ms Patel disputes this, based on legal advice from the Attorney General and expert QCS. Border Force has told ministers it will only deploy “turnarounds” when they deem them safe to do so. They are likely to be restricted to sturdier, bigger migrant boats and only used in “very limited circumstances”.

However, Tony Smith, a former head of the Border Force, warned the policy risked pushing people into “more lifethreatening situations”. “I can see why Priti Patel has got to this stage because clearly the French are not moving. I am just worried that people are going to drown,” Mr Smith told the Telegraph.

“These smugglers don’t give a s*** about human life. What they did in Australia was to puncture the RIBS below the water line when they saw a Border Force vessel so that they would not be able to sail it back to Indonesia.”

Another senior immigration official warned: “Migrants will have a strategy to stop it – like jumping into the Channel – and the French will not co-operate. It is a political soundbite with no ability to implement it.”

Alexander Downer, Australian foreign office minister when it introduced “pushbacks,” said his Government had gone ahead with the policy despite objections from Indonesia. “They have never accepted it but it was done.”

If the smugglers only provided half the fuel the migrants needed, Australian Border Force would provide them with sufficient fuel to return to Indonesia.

If they tried to sink their boats, coastguard vessels carried “unsinkable” boats to put them in and sent them back, said Mr Downer.

“We didn’t do that more than three or four times. The perception is that the navy and coastguards will be doing this every day of the week.

“You only have to do it two or three times to establish the point that no one is going to get to England.”