The Home Secretary Priti Patel has said illegal migrants crossing the English Channel should be “intercepted at sea” and returned to France even when they are “just 250 yards” from the French coast.
The number of migrants who have managed to cross the Channel to the UK in 2020 is above 2,500, according to an analysis by the PA news agency.
Speaking to MPs at the House of Commons home affairs committee on Wednesday, Patel said: “Too many people are still making crossings and leaving France or trying to leave France, and they get over here.
“We are fundamentally looking at ways of changing working with France.
“I’ve had some very, very difficult discussions with my French counterpart, even looking at interceptions at sea, because currently, the French authorities are not intercepting boats at sea.
“By that I mean even boats that have left that are just 250 yards or so away from the French coast.
“I feel there could be stronger enforcement measures on the French side, and they’ve heard that from me.”
Patel said that France does not current intercept boats at sea because of its interpretation of maritime law.
The home secretary, however, insisted France “can go ahead and do that” legally.
She said: “We’ve got to try and break this route. And to break this route, in my view, we have to intercept boats at sea and return them to France.”
The Home Secretary wants the United Kingdom and France to come to an agreement allowing patrol boats from either country to intercept boats carrying migrants even when they are “just 250 yards” from the French coast.
Migration Watch UK has warned we may see 5,000 more illegal Channel arrivals by Christmas if current trends continue.
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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