Britain agrees £660 million deal with France to stop migrant boats

The UK government has agreed to pay France an additional £660 million under a new three-year deal aimed at reducing the number of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats.

The agreement, due to be signed by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, will fund a significant expansion of French enforcement efforts. Around 1,100 enforcement, intelligence, and military personnel — a 40% increase — will be deployed to target smuggling networks and prevent crossings, as per the British press. 

A key element of the deal is the creation of a 50-member riot squad trained in “crowd-control tactics” to “contain and disperse” people attempting to board boats. UK funding is expected to cover equipment including batons, shields, and tear gas to respond to what the Home Office described as “hostile crowds and violent tactics.”

The deal follows lengthy negotiations after a previous £478 million agreement expired on March 31. It includes a baseline package of about £500 million to strengthen patrols along northern France’s coastline.

Additional measures include five new police units, 20 extra maritime officers to intercept so-called “taxi boats” in shallow waters, and an expansion of an intelligence unit from 18 to 30 specialists focused on identifying and prosecuting smuggling gangs. French authorities say they have already stopped six such boats in recent months, with smugglers jailed and deported.

The plan has drawn strong criticism from refugee advocacy groups. Sile Reynolds of Freedom from Torture described the move as a “deeply alarming” escalation, warning that “we will be paying for police boots and batons to be wielded indiscriminately against men, women and children on the beaches of northern France for the crime of seeking safety.”

Imran Hussain of the Refugee Council argued that enforcement alone will not address the root causes of migration. “By focusing on policing the Channel, the government is treating the symptom not the cause,” he said, adding that without safe routes, people will continue to risk dangerous crossings.

By Tamilla Hasanova