The UK’s agreement with France to return small boat migrants is facing renewed uncertainty, with Andy Burnham appealing directly to President Emmanuel Macron to preserve a deal that officials fear Paris could abandon.
The arrangement, which is due to expire at the end of the month, allows Britain to return people who have crossed the English Channel illegally in exchange for France accepting an equivalent number of asylum seekers for transfer to the UK.
A UK government source said France was “on the verge of pulling out” of negotiations, as the two governments have yet to agree terms for extending the scheme.
The arrangement has so far resulted in about 1,400 migrants being returned to France and a similar number of asylum seekers transferred legally to Britain, according to figures reported by The Times. That represents about 4 per cent of the 32,549 people who have arrived in small boats since the agreement began on August 6 last year.
Officials on both sides of the Channel have suggested Paris is reluctant to make the arrangement permanent because it has not delivered the scale of returns expected. France is also facing difficulties deporting migrants returned from Britain, leaving some in legal and administrative limbo.
The approaching French presidential election is adding another political constraint for Mr Macron, whose administration is understood to be cautious about expanding an agreement that could become a domestic political liability.
Mr Burnham is believed to be more supportive of maintaining the arrangement than some other members of the French government.
Whitehall, meanwhile, argues that the agreement has contributed to a reduction in crossings. Some 17,281 people have arrived in the UK by small boat since the beginning of the year, 43 per cent fewer than at the same point last year.
Crossings during the traditionally busy summer period also fell to their lowest level since 2020.
A Home Office spokesman said: “The government’s agreement with France has been extended until autumn.
“This will ensure we will continue to remove migrants who arrive on small boats over the summer.”
The government is also widening its international enforcement efforts. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has agreed an intelligence-sharing arrangement with Belgium aimed at disrupting people-smuggling networks operating beyond northern France.
Belgian officers will be able to join the UK-France intelligence cell in northern France, allowing police forces to exchange information more rapidly on organised criminal groups.
Ms Mahmood said: “This agreement will help UK and Belgian police tighten the net around the criminal gangs behind small boat crossings.
“The migrant smuggling trade doesn’t start and stop on the beaches of northern France.
“These gangs operate across borders, so we’ll work with every international partner available to track them down, shut them down and bring them to justice.
“Our efforts are delivering results. Small boat crossings are down significantly. But we know there is much more to do. I will do whatever it takes to bear down on these vile criminals and bring them to justice.”
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