The UK has agreed to pay France an additional £16.2m over two months to maintain police patrols on Channel beaches, after negotiators failed to reach a permanent agreement before a midnight deadline.
The stopgap arrangement comes as French officials resisted UK demands for a significant increase in interventions and patrols to stop migrants crossing the Channel by small boat. It is understood that Paris also refused to guarantee that patrols would continue without extra funding.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed off the temporary deal, which follows a deadlock over plans to renew the three-year, £478m agreement that was due to lapse. A Home Office spokesperson said: "The home secretary is driving a hard bargain with the French to deliver the best deal for the British people, prevent migrants boarding boats and to save lives. We want more bang for our buck."
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he would end any deal with France, telling a press conference: "Tomorrow will be a very busy day in the English Channel, and it wouldn’t make any difference whether we agreed to a further £365m or not." His comments were dismissed by a source close to Mahmood, who said they were "completely reckless" and asked whether Farage really wanted 42,000 more migrants coming to Britain.
France’s junior minister for the sea, Xavier Ducept, criticised the UK for making demands that could endanger asylum seekers and French officers, saying "rescue comes first". Nearly 700 officers will continue to patrol the coast, with surveillance and vehicles identifying launches. The original £478m package was announced in 2023, but crossings have since increased, with 41,472 people having made the journey.
