Britain has agreed to pay France tens of millions of pounds more to stop people making dangerous Channel crossings, but Rishi Sunak has admitted the problem may still persist.
A 72 million euro (£63 million) deal, signed on Monday morning, will see a 40% increase in the number of officers patrolling beaches along the French coastline in the coming months.
For the first time, British border staff will be stationed in control rooms on the other side of the Channel to observe operations.
The Prime Minister said he is “confident” he can curb the small boat crossings that are now at a record high, but he suggested it could take months.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman struck the agreement with her French counterpart Gerald Darmanin this morning. It will take effect immediately.
The government has already handed 200 million euros (£175million) to Paris since 2018 to end the crossings, but things have got worse.
The number who have made the journey in small boats this year passed 40,000 yesterday, up from 28,526 in 2021.
Mr Sunak, who is flying to the G20 summit in Indonesia, pledged to tackle the crossings.
He told reporters: “I do think that the absolute priority that the British people have right now, as do I, is to grip illegal migration.
“I made a commitment that I would grip it in the summer and I can tell you I've spent more time working on that than anything else - other than obviously the Autumn Statement - over the past couple of weeks.”
But the PM admitted it may take time before the numbers drop significantly.
He said: “Look, I've been honest that there's not a single thing to do to fix it and we can't fix it overnight.
“But there's a range of things I'm working on, including the French deal, where I'm confident we can bring the numbers down over time and that's what I'm gonna deliver."
Under the deal with Emmanuel Macron’s government, more money will be put into CCTV and sniffer dogs at ports.
Border guards patrolling beaches on France’s northern coast will be given drones and night vision technology to help detect the people smuggling gangs.
A new task force will be set up to reverse the recent rise in Albanian nationals arriving in Britain. Money will also go on centres on France where migrants stopped from crossing the Channel can be held.
Ahead of the deal being signed, Care4Calais charity founder Clare Moseley told the Mirror: “The record number of small boat crossings this year is a direct result of the UK Government closing all safe routes to claim asylum in the UK.
“People who are brave and resilient enough to have escaped from the worst terrors in this world should not be risking their lives once again to claim asylum in the UK.
“We know it’s possible to give people safe passage - we do it for Ukrainian refugees - so why not do it for other refugees?”
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Tory government has “completely failed to prevent the criminal smuggler and trafficking gangs hugely expanding in the Channel over the last three years”.
The 72 million euros (£63 million) will cover the current financial year. It is an increase on the 63 million euros (£55 million) spent in 2021/22.
