Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Rishi Sunak takes heat from Tory MPs over £63m Channel crossings deal with France

Rishi Sunak takes heat from Tory MPs over £63m Channel crossings deal with France

The Prime Minister faced questions from some of his own MPs over the latest agreement
Rishi Sunak could not say when the number of migrants crossing the Channel to the UK would reduce despite the Government agreeing a fresh multimillion-pound deal with France.

The Prime Minister came under fire from critics, as well as some of his own MPs, amid concerns the latest agreement falls short of what is needed to curb the crisis.

The revised pact, worth around £63 million (72 million euros) in 2022/23, is a hike of about eight to nine million pounds a year from a similar pledge signed in 2021.

It comes as the number of people arriving on the south coast after making the journey topped 40,000 for the year so far, with crossings continuing on Monday.

Under the latest commitment, the number of French officers patrolling beaches on the country’s northern coastline is expected to rise from 200 to 300 within the next five months.

For the first time, British officers will be stationed in French control rooms and on the approaches to beaches to observe operations in a bid to better understand the threat at hand and inform deployments.

Other measures signed off earlier in Paris by Home Secretary Suella Braverman and the French interior minister Gerald Darmanin, which will “begin with immediate effect”, include drones and night vision equipment to help officers detect crossings, as well as other efforts to step up surveillance.

The Prime Minister hailed the move as part of his efforts to “grip illegal migration” and insisted he was “confident” numbers would come down over time – but declined to guarantee they would fall next year.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly declined to give a target on how much the deal with France could cut crossing numbers, but defended the scale of spending to tackle the problem.

Critics lambasted the deal, with the Conservative MP for Dover Natalie Elphicke saying it “falls short of what is needed”.

Describing how a boat landed on a beach in a coastal village in her Kent constituency “as the ink was drying on this new deal”, she told the Commons: “We don’t need more observation, we need action taken on the French side.”

Asked if the deal was a game changer, Ms Braverman told MPs it was a “step change and a big step forward”, but on its own it “will not fix the problem”.

Speaking to broadcasters ahead of the G20 summit in Bali, Mr Sunak said: “I’m confident that we can get the numbers down.

“But I also want to be honest with people that it isn’t a single thing that will magically solve this. We can’t do it overnight.

“But people should be absolutely reassured that this is a top priority for me. There’s lots more that we need to do.”

This is the fifth deal of its kind in four years, MPs heard, and the latest sum now takes the estimated total cost committed in that time to more than £230 million.

In July last year, the then home secretary Priti Patel and Mr Darmanin announced a £54 million (62.7 million euro) agreement to more than double the number of police patrolling French beaches for the second time in 12 months in a bid to curb the crossings and patrol a wider stretch of coastline, with the promise of more surveillance and plans to bolster border security.

Human rights group Amnesty International UK said the new deal was no different from previous agreements and accused the Government of “recycling the same failed response”, while the Refugee Council said the move would “do little to end the crossings”.

More than 1,800 migrants arrived in the UK over the weekend marking the first Channel crossings in November after an 11-day hiatus amid bad weather.

Government figures show 972 people arrived in 22 boats on Saturday, followed by 853 people in 26 boats on Sunday, taking the provisional total for the year so far to 41,729. Total crossings last year were 28,526.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×