Small Boat

Asylum seekers express dismay at continuation of scheme agreed last year that has failed to stop crossings in ChannelThe Home Office is extending a controversial scheme to stop asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats, the Guardian has learned.The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, signed a deal they hailed as “groundbreaking” last July, known as “one in, one out”. Continue reading...

Two men and two women were swept away by currents while attempting to board dinghy off French coastA man has been arrested on suspicion of endangering life after four people died in a small boat Channel crossing on Thursday.The man, described by prosecutors as a 27-year-old Sudanese national, was arrested by National Crime Agency investigators on Friday. Continue reading...

French authorities say situation still being assessed after taxi boat sank between France and UKFour people have died after a small boat sank in the Channel between France and Britain, French local authorities said on Thursday.“A taxi boat sinking occurred today. The situation is still being assessed and remains subject to change,” local authorities in Calais said in a press statement. Continue reading...

Negotiations deadlocked as No 10 wants more action by French officials but France has concerns over safetyThe UK’s agreement with France to pay for beach patrols is on the verge of collapse amid wrangling over the number of small boat interceptions and the safety of asylum seekers in French waters.Negotiations over plans to revamp the three-year, £480m deal remain deadlocked, despite the involvement of ministers including Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary. The deal expires at midnight on Tuesday. Continue reading...

New agreement delayed amid home secretary Shabana Mahmood’s demands for more interceptions of dinghiesA renewed deal between the UK and France to stop small boat Channel crossings has not yet been signed, with a day to go before the current one expires, raising questions about whether people smugglers will be able to act unimpeded from later this week.Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron announced the previous £468m deal on 10 March 2023, weeks before it came into force. The UK pays two-thirds of the cost of policing France’s northern border and the current agreement expires on Tuesday. Discussions on it began last July at the 37th UK-France summit and British officials travelled to Paris last week for another round of talks. Continue reading...