The Home Secretary Suella Braverman has signed a deal with France to try and tackle the record numbers of migrants crossing the English Channel, and so far this year more than 40,000 have made the journey.
For the first time ever British agents will be working in France to tackle the migrant crisis and the annual payments to Paris to help police the border will rise from £63m in 2022-2023 from £54.8m for the 2021-2022.
Braverman said, “There are several elements to the deal, and I think it represents a positive next step to our collaboration with the French.
“It’s not going to fix it overnight. It’s not a silver bullet.
“But I think for the first time we have some real wins for both the French and the UK.”
She added, “I’m very encouraged. I’m very encouraged by the agreement that we’ve just signed today.
“I pay tribute to all of the teams in France and the United Kingdom who’ve been working to secure this agreement.
“I think there are some significant gains for both the French and the UK authorities.”
The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that getting a grip of this crisis is an “absolute priority.”
Sunak said, “I do think that the absolute priority that British people have right now, as do I, is to grip illegal migration.
“I made that commitment that I would grip it in the summer and I can tell you all I have spent more time working on that than anything else other than the autumn statement over the past couple of weeks.”
The Prime Minister added, “I’ve been honest that there’s not a single thing we can do to fix it, and we can’t fix it overnight.
“But there’s a range of things I’m working on, including the French deal, where I’m confident we can bring the numbers down over time and that’s what I am going to deliver.”
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