Under a new agreement, signed by Home Secretary Suella Braverman in Paris on Monday, the UK will pay France £63m this year, up from the £55m paid last year, to help solve the small boats crisis which to date has seen 40,000 migrants making the treacherous crossing of the English Channel this year alone.
Plan falls short
Dover and Deal Tory MP, Natalie Elphicke said: “The deal announced with France today falls short of what’s needed. It doesn’t match the scale or urgency of the small boats crisis, or the increased risk of loss of life as Winter approaches.
“What’s needed is a step-change in approach with joint border patrols and a Channel-wide joint security zone.
“It’s only when migrants and people smugglers alike know that they can’t succeed in crossing the Channel in a small boat that this crisis will come to an end.”