Drone footage has captured the moment French police stopped dozens of migrants from launching a dinghy destined for the UK.
A beach buggy intercepted the asylum seekers as they tried to reach the water. Some split away from the main group, attempting to thwart officers from slashing the dinghy. But as reinforcements arrived – and clashes intensified – they ditched the boat and abandoned attempts to reach the UK.
185 crossings prevented under £660m deal
Officials on Thursday claimed France has prevented 185 small boat crossings in the first three months of Labour's £660m deal with Paris. The 185, the Home Office said, equated to 61% of crossing attempts. French officials also believe they had four weeks where they stopped every attempt to launch a dinghy.
French units have intercepted 12 taxi boats on the water, with three taking place in just the last two weeks, the Home Office said. This prevented them moving further up the coast, loading more and more migrants onto an unsafe vessel.
Home Secretary defends French police
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood defended French police over their Channel migrant failures – insisting they are “doing their bit”. She said the water's edge is the “last point at which anything can be done” to prevent departures.
Ms Mahmood said: "Our new UK-France deal is already having a real impact, stopping crossings before they happen and disrupting the criminal gangs behind them. People smugglers should be in no doubt, we're taking down their operations, seizing their equipment and breaking their business model for good. Through our joint work with France, we have stopped over 47,000 small boat crossing attempts since the election and we will not let up."
Deportations and detentions under the deal
Under Labour's £660m deal with Paris, Britain will pay France to detain and deport migrants trying to cross the Channel in small boats. The deal will see officers targeting and detaining small boat migrants on French beaches. They will then be taken to a new removal centre in Dunkirk. While the site is under construction, officials will use a removal centre in Coquelles.
Home Office sources said that if it doesn't lead to a reduction in crossings, the payments will be cancelled. The Home Office last night revealed 40 migrants have already been deported. But 32 detained under the deal have been released. Another 76 remain in detention.
Director of Maritime and Small Boats at Border Security Command, Charlie Eastaugh, said: "Our partnership with France is stronger than ever. Together, we are piling the pressure on the criminal gangs and preventing these illegal and dangerous crossings. French officers are not shy in taking bold action to prevent these launches where it is safe and lawful to do so. They work in difficult and dangerous conditions to stop boats launching, seize equipment and disperse large migrant groups as well as saving thousands of lives at sea. Our joint efforts are delivering results, and we will go further still to restore control of our borders and put these smugglers out of business."
Ms Mahmood added: "If you only look at activity that's happening at the water's edge, actually that's the last point at which anything can be done because at that point you've got an operational risk of people being in the water, and then obviously French officials have to make a decision based on operational risk to life. If you just go a few 100 yards up from the water's edge, you will see a lot of disruption activity. There is a huge amount of work happening with French law enforcement that is literally stopping people from actually getting to the water's edge in the first place."
