The UK will fund 200 French officers to detain and deport asylum seekers from war-torn countries under a new £660 million deal aimed at reducing Channel crossings. A removal centre in Dunkirk will hold people from 10 nationalities—Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Syria, Vietnam, and Yemen—who attempted to reach the UK in small boats. The Home Office confirmed these were the top 10 nationalities crossing the Channel last year.
The funding comes from a £162 million 'payment by results' package, on top of a £500 million three-year baseline deal with France to boost enforcement on northern beaches. Officials claim hundreds, possibly thousands, will be detained under the scheme. However, EU countries including France have previously struggled to deport people under the Dublin agreement.
Jo Cobley, chief executive of Safe Passage International, condemned the plan as 'disgraceful and unlawful,' arguing that returning people to active war zones or persecution in countries like Afghanistan, Sudan, and Iran violates international law. Home Office sources said deportations would only occur if home countries were deemed safe, such as Vietnam, or if detainees had been processed in other EU countries.
Home Secretary Yvette Mahmood defended the approach, stating that the UK cannot stop the boats without French cooperation. She dismissed calls to halt payments to France as 'fundamentally unserious,' emphasising the need for a joint response. The Dunkirk site, with a 140-person capacity, is expected to be operational by the end of 2026, though construction has yet to begin.
Critics, including Sile Reynolds of Freedom from Torture, expressed outrage that UK funds are being used to detain survivors of torture and war. The scheme will be trialled at a nearby centre in Coquelles from next month, with funding withdrawn if it fails to deliver value for money in its first year.
