The United Kingdom is failing to coordinate with France in efforts to reduce the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, according to a new report.
The document, published by the French Court of Accounts, states that France is “struggling to develop operational cooperation arrangements” with the UK and highlights the struggles of a joint intelligence unit established in 2020.
The unit aims to fight human smuggling and reduce how many people try to cross the Channel illegally.
However, the court “found that the British don’t provide usable information on the departures of small boats, and give very general, first-level information that has not been counter-checked”.
British information on migrants’ arrivals, circumstances and nationalities “appears to be very patchy,” the report added.
“The relationship between France and the UK is therefore unbalanced in terms of information and intelligence exchange,” it read.
A group of people thought to be migrants being brought in to Dover, Kent, in October
The Home Office has claimed the report “is based on out-of-date information and does not accurately reflect our current working relationship” with France.
In a statement insisting they “work closely with French partners,” they added: “In the last two years, we have taken more robust action alongside them to crack down on vile people-smuggling gangs and stop the boats.”
The government recently said small boat crossings have dropped, with 29,000 people arriving in 2023 compared with about 46,000 the year before.
However, leaked documents revealed the number could rise to 35,000 this year.
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The migrants who didn’t make it
This came as a separate Home Office claim about immigration was labelled “misleading” and “false”.
Rishi Sunak had claimed victory in clearing the backlog of asylum claims – despite 4,500 complex cases still requiring “additional checks or investigation”.
Labour’s shadow immigration minister accused the government of making a “false” claim.
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Stephen Kinnock said: “The asylum backlog has rocketed to 165,000 under the Tories – eight times higher than when Labour left office – and no slicing or renaming the figures can disguise that fact.
“Meanwhile Rishi Sunak’s promise made a year ago to end asylum hotel use has been disastrously broken – with a 20% increase to 56,000, costing the British taxpayer more than £2bn a year.”
