UK-France joint statement:
enhancing co-operation against illegal migration
Numbers of officers in northern France will increase by 40% over
the coming months as a result of UK funding to step up
action to reduce illegal small boat crossings, following a new UK
and France agreement signed today.
The Home Secretary, , is in France today
(Monday 14 November) to finalise the arrangement with the French
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. The new agreement lays the
foundations for deeper UK-French co-operation to tackle illegal
migration and marks the next step for the close operational
partnership between the 2 countries which has prevented over
30,000 crossings this year.
The arrangement means, for the first time, specialist UK officers
will also be embedded with their French counterparts, which will
increase information sharing, improve understanding of the
threat, and ensure UK expertise is at the heart of efforts to
disrupt crossings and clamp down on people
smugglers. This more integrated approach will also
include strengthened operational co-operation, including joint
UK-France analysis teams supporting the co-ordination and
exchange of information by French-command HQ.
Home Secretary said:
We must do everything we can to stop people making these
dangerous journeys and crack down on the criminal gangs. This is
a global challenge requiring global solutions, and it is in the
interests of both the UK and French governments to work together
to solve this complex problem.
There are no quick fixes, but this new arrangement will mean we
can significantly increase the number of French gendarmes
patrolling the beaches in northern France and ensure UK and
French officers are working hand in hand to stop the people
smugglers.
Joint working between UK and French officers so far has secured
more than 140 convictions connected to people smuggling since the
start of 2020 – and these criminals now face a combined 400 years
behind bars.
The UK-France Joint Intelligence Cell, which has so far
dismantled 55 organised crime groups and secured over 500 arrests
since its inception in 2020, will also be expanded.
This latest multi-year arrangement between France and the UK is
worth up to 72.2 million euros in 2022 to 2023. It will
strengthen security at ports to help clamp down on illegal entry
by funding investment in cutting edge surveillance technology,
drones, detection dog teams, CCTV and helicopters to help detect
and prevent crossings.
It will also go towards supporting reception and removal centres
in France for migrants whose journeys to the UK are prevented, to
further deter crossing attempts.
A new taskforce will also be set up, focused on reversing the
recent rise in Albanian nationals and organised crime groups
exploiting illegal migration routes into Western Europe and the
UK.
This enhanced approach will boost joint British and French
collaboration, which has already prevented over 30,000 illegal
crossing attempts since the start of the year – more than 50%
more than at the same stage last year.
The renewed partnership marks the next step in joint efforts to
reduce these dangerous crossings and paves the way for deeper
co-operation between the 2 countries in future, looking ahead to
next year’s UK-France leaders’ summit.
The Home Secretary will travel to Frankfurt later this week,
where she will meet her international counterparts from the G7 to
discuss a range of priority issues including tackling serious
organised crime. She will also meet with neighbouring countries
as soon as possible as part of the UK’s ongoing co-operation with
European partners to drive progress on the issue of illegal
migration.
The UK’s work with international partners is a key part of the
government’s wide-ranging approach to fix the broken asylum
system, break the business model of people smugglers facilitating
these journeys and clamp down on illegal migration.
This includes the measures introduced through the
Nationality and Borders Act to prevent abuse of the system, such
as introducing life sentences for people smugglers and increasing
the maximum penalty for entering the UK illegally, as well as our
world leading partnership with Rwanda which will see
migrants who make these unnecessary journeys relocated there to
have their claims considered and rebuild their lives.
