Amnesty International has warned that the migration deal between UK and France announced on Monday will result in “more dangerous journeys.”
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.”
Amnesty’s migrant rights director, Steve Valdez-Symonds, said, “This deal is just the same as previous deals – spending money and resources on intercepting and obstructing people crossing the Channel, while doing nothing to address their need for safe access to an asylum system.
“The inevitable result will be more dangerous journeys and more profits led by ruthless smuggling gangs and other serious criminals exploiting the refusal of the UK and French governments to take and share responsibility.
“Perpetuating this dreadful human suffering by recycling the same failed response to punish and deter desperate people in miserable and unsafe conditions has become mindless to the point of cruelty.
“Unless the UK government accepts its share of people into its asylum system, particularly people with family and connections in the UK, there seems little prospect that anything is going to change, let alone improve.”
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