France says ‘non’ to Patel plan to turn back migrants in Channel
France has refused to accept Priti Patel’s plan to send boats of migrants back across the English Channel.
France’s interior minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted this morning that he will not “accept any practice contrary to the law of the sea nor any financial blackmail”, after Patel threatened to withhold millions of pounds she previously promised to help stop the flow of migrants.
Darmanin said he “made it clear” to Patel today that “Great Britain’s commitment must be kept”.
Patel has been drawing up plans to allow Border Force officials to turn back boats of migrants crossing the Channel from France to the UK, after record numbers of arrivals this year.
The tactic has never been used before and has been described as potentially very dangerous.
This week alone has seen more than 1,500 people make the journey with the help of people smugglers based in France.
More than 13,500 migrants have arrived through the Channel this year, already eclipsing last year’s 8,417 figure.
Patel is under pressure from Tory MPs to sort the issue, while rumours swirled around Westminster this week that she could be sacked in the next reshuffle for not dealing with the crossings.
The Times reported this week that the home secretary was threatening to withhold millions of pounds promised to France if they did not stop more of the boats from coming to the UK.
The home secretary agreed in July to give the French government £54m to help stop the flow of migrants.
This week, she told MPs: “We’ve not given them a penny of the money so far and France is going to have to get its act together if it wants to see the cash. It’s payment by results and we’ve not yet seen those results. The money is conditional.”