Minister for Border Security and Asylum (): I have been clear about this
Government's determination to crack down on small boats. No one
should be making dangerous journeys, undermining our border
security and putting lives at risk. We must restore order and
control to our borders. That means bearing down on these
dangerous crossings and bringing people smugglers to justice.
I wish to update the House on our joint work with France on
tackling illegal migration. The new multi-step approach delivered
under this Government and endorsed at last summer's UK/France
Summit has already had a significant impact: since the election,
joint work with the French has prevented over 42,000 small boat
crossing attempts through intervention and dispersal. Joint law
enforcement operations have also seen 480 migrant traffickers
arrested in 2025 alone.
We must go further. Today, on Thursday 23 April 2026, the Home
Secretary will agree a landmark £662 million multi‑year
partnership with the French Minister of the Interior Laurent
Nuñez. This deal boosts law enforcement boots on the ground,
scales up French maritime interventions and increases
intelligence sharing to target smuggling networks at every stage
of the route. Specifically, this deal includes:
- A significant uplift in frontline law enforcement,
front-loading deployment in time for the summer. Numbers will
increase by 42% to nearly 1,100 law enforcement, intelligence and
other frontline officers in Northern France to track down illegal
migrants and stop them boarding boats.
- Five specially trained police units, including a new riot
police unit, specially trained in the use of riot and crowd
control tactics and equipment will be deployed to deal with
violent tactics.
- The French will roll out millions of pounds of
state-of-the-art worth of drone surveillance, two new helicopters
and a new camera system surveillance to track down and intercept
people smugglers and illegal migrants.
- Expanding maritime capability to intercept taxi boats at sea.
In the last two months, the French have stopped six migrant taxi
boats, returning all migrants to France and sentencing five
smugglers to prison and deportation. We are backing these tactics
with a new vessel and an increase of more than 20 additional
maritime officers.
Of the total £662 million, the UK has committed to a foundation
fund of £501m committed over three years and a new flexible
innovation fund of £51m in year 1 and £110m in years 2 and 3. If
these new tactics are not working, funding will stop after one
year and put into activity that does. This new deal is
underpinned by robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that
ensure every intervention is evidence-led and responsive to
changing circumstances. Every pound spent will target impact,
maximising the effectiveness of UK investment to tackle small
boat crossings.
Our work with France is complemented by the most far‑reaching
overhaul of the asylum and migration system in modern times. This
programme of reform outlined in Restoring order and control:
a statement on the government's asylum and returns policy (CP
1418) is reshaping the UK's protection and settlement offer
to make the system faster, firmer and significantly less open to
abuse. This government is closing every asylum hotel, moving
asylum seekers into basic accommodation including ex-military
sites.
We have already removed or deported nearly 60,000 illegal
migrants and foreign criminals since this government took office
– up 31%, and immigration enforcement action to tackle illegal
working has reached the highest levels in British history with an
83% rise in arrests and 77% increase in raids.
This historic agreement shows how this government is working with
international allies and taking action to secure our borders and
deliver a transformed, results-based partnership with strong
safeguards for taxpayers.
