Charities have warned that the UK's agreement to pay France £662 million to police small boat migrants on beaches will only force more people to undertake perilous Channel crossings. The deal, which includes deploying riot-trained police to French beaches, aims to prevent migrants from reaching the UK by boat. The Home Office has also pledged a 40% increase in enforcement officers in northern France, bringing the total to nearly 1,100. However, critics argue that the additional funding will not reduce crossings and may even lead to more deaths.
Charities Speak Out
Jo Cobley, chief executive of Safe Passage International, described the deal as "a brutal deal for refugees." She stated: "More violent tactics will only force people, who have fled war and persecution, into taking even more dangerous and fatal journeys across the Channel. The children we work with in France, hoping to reunite with family in the UK, have no alternative. With no safe routes and the government’s suspension of refugee family reunion, they have no way to reach protection and family in the UK."
Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais, echoed these concerns: "The government continues to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results - whilst ignoring the only solution that will stop crossings. All the evidence shows that these UK-France agreements not only cost the public purse huge sums, they also lead to more loss of life in the Channel. They do nothing to deter crossings, they only make the crossings that refugees make more dangerous. We have seen this in recent weeks with reports of small boats launching from Belgium. The only way to stop crossings is to open safe routes for refugees to claim asylum in the UK."
Expert Analysis
Meghan Benton, director at the Migration Policy Institute in Paris, described Labour's deal as "more the same," noting it is "a bigger, tougher version of the existing arrangements, more money, more offices, more fancy kit. It’s very tech forward." The agreement renews a previous deal under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which saw France receive almost £500 million. Despite increased funding and policing, crossings rose, with 41,472 people arriving by small boat in 2025.
Ms Benton referred to the UK's "one in, one out" scheme with France, which exchanged some asylum seekers. She said: "That has really underdelivered on numbers but it has the seeds of a sensible approach that could be more part of a comprehensive solution. What we’ve got here is really something that is enforcement only."
Deal Details and Criticisms
The extra cash will be paid over three years, with a £160 million tranche conditional on enough journeys being stopped. However, The Independent reported last month that the one in, one out scheme was returning just 12 migrants a week to France, far below the promised 50. The scheme has also faced legal challenges, with 40% of detained migrants making trafficking claims. Immigration minister Alex Norris told BBC’s Today programme: "If we don’t see the disruptions that we collectively want to see, we all pay that penalty, they certainly do in northern France as well."
Analysis from the University of Bristol and Swiss research agency Border Forensics found that migrant deaths in the Channel soared after the Sunak deal was signed, highlighting the dangers of such enforcement-only approaches.
