UK pays France £16.2m for two-month Channel patrols
UK pays France £16.2m for two-month Channel patrols
Britain funds a two-month stopgap with France at £16.2m to patrol Channel beaches and curb small-boat crossings as talks on a longer deal stall amid a wider negotiation deadlock.
Britain will pay France an extra £16.2m to keep police patrolling Channel beaches for two months, a stopgap after negotiators failed to seal a long-term deal before the deadline. The arrangement extends the current funding and aims to avert a spike in small-boat crossings while talks continue, though it does not guarantee a longer-term commitment.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed off the temporary pact and framed it as delivering value for money while safeguarding lives. Officials said the government is seeking a significant rise in French interventions and would want regular updates on how many patrols have been conducted, as part of linking future funding to actual outcomes.
France has pushed back against open-ended demands for more patrols without additional funds, arguing that without resources there is a risk to officers and migrants. Paris has warned that UK expectations for a surge in French enforcement cannot be guaranteed within a longer-term deal, which was due to lapse at midnight.
The wider dispute centers on who should bear the costs of stopping crossings and how fast to ramp up operations. The two governments had been negotiating a three-year, £478m package, with the UK pressing for more robust enforcement on both sides of the Channel and for greater transparency about interventions in northern France.
As talks proceed, the two-month extension provides breathing space to avoid immediate crossings while both sides reassess priorities. The small-boat challenge remains a political battleground, but the stopgap underscores a willingness to fund enforcement to save lives while a longer pact is hammered out.
