Nigel Farage demands £700m refund from France for migrant ‘scam’ – ‘laughing at us’ | Politics | News

Nigel Farage will demand France pays back the £700 million given to Paris to stop Channel migrant crossings. Reform said it would not hand the French Government “another penny” and “demand a refund for the scam perpetrated on the British people”.

The Home Office is desperately trying to thrash out a new deal for policing operations in northern France, despite warnings Britain is pouring “money into their country for a failed scheme”. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was on Tuesday night told she must make any new cash conditional on results – and intercepting dinghies in the water.

But Reform’s home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, told the Daily Express: “The French are laughing at us. Hopeless Tory and Labour governments have paid them £700 million of British taxpayer money to stop the boats, yet illegal boat crossings skyrocketed.

“Reform would not pay them another penny and demand a refund for the scam they have perpetrated on the British people.”

He added of current deal, which expires on Tuesday: “This monstrous £475 million, three-year deal has delivered nothing but failure, with more than 107,000 illegal migrants crossing the Channel into Britain since it was struck.

“The arrival rate has risen by 41%, while interception rates have fallen by 13%.

“The French are laughing at us as we pour taxpayers’ money into their country for a failed scheme.”

Mr Yusuf has vowed to stop crossings by dramatically increasing surveillance in the Channel, ordering Royal Marines to tow dinghies back to France and to deport every illegal migrant in the UK. Reform would legally back elite troops and Border Force to intercept dinghies, this newspaper was told.

Some 3,457 migrants have already crossed the Channel this year, with the French police often watching on helplessly. Officers have also been spotted handing out life jackets.

Under Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s proposals, France would only be paid if they intercept a certain number of asylum seekers.

France is understood to have agreed to the idea – but not the payment thresholds.

And critics urged Ms Mahmood to insert a clause in the deal demanding that Paris finally intercepts dinghies in the water.

Former Border Force Director General Tony Smith also called for British officers to “work alongside” the French in Calais and Dunkirk “so we get a better idea of their actual actions”.

He said: “We need an agreement based on performance, with more transparency over outcomes. As things stand, we don’t know what the French mean by a “stop” or prevented crossing.

“Does that include boats that go back anyway because of engine failure? Or people who scatter back into the sand dunes upon sight of an officer?

“How do they count these and how do we audit them?

“Ideally, I’d put boots on the ground to work alongside them, so we get a better idea of their actual actions.

“But I don’t think they will agree to that.”

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Daily Express: “With the French only preventing 30% of embarkations last year, it is clear they need to up their game.

“We should not hand over any more money to the French unless they deliver on their promise to intercept boats near the shore.

“Stopping a third of embarkations is not good enough – illegal immigrants who are stopped just try again the next day.

“Since the election 67,000 illegal immigrants have crossed – a 45% increase.

“Labour have no control of our borders – their claim to smash the gangs lies in tatters and their small boats tsar has just quit in frustration.

“We need to leave the ECHR which will enable us to deport all illegal immigrants within a week. Then the crossings will soon stop. But Shabana Mahmood is too weak to do this. »

France is only intercepting a third of Channel migrant crossings, down from 50% when the £475m deal between Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron was struck.

The French authorities stopped 22,476 migrants from crossing to the UK.

But the vast majority of these are believed to be linked to dinghies sinking, their engines breaking down, overcrowding on the boats and bad weather.

Research compiled by the House of Commons Library revealed how the number of boats being intercepted has fallen over the past five years.

In 2021, 23,923 departures were prevented. This increased to 33,000 in 2022, before dropping again to 26,000 in 2023.

The House of Commons Library said partial figures for 2024 – from May to December – revealed 21,317 were stopped from reaching the UK.

Britain has paid France over £700m since 2018 for police patrols, increased surveillance and military-grade drones to prevent illegal migrants crossing the Channel.

Funding commitments ramped up as the small boats crisis intensified in 2020.

London and Paris agreed a series of deals in 2019, valued at £3.25 million, £28.1m in 2020, £54m in 2021, £62.2m in 2022 and then Rishi Sunak’s £475m in 2023.

Paris has agreed to stop dinghies in the water. But French officers have only done so once.

Shadow Home Office Minister Katie Lam: “It’s astonishing that after spending hundreds of millions of pounds on the so-called ‘one-in, one-out’ scheme, two in every three migrant crossings are still succeeding.

« We cannot go on handing over huge amounts of money and signing complex agreements with the French. This Government has proven itself incapable of getting the basics right and providing the secure borders that the British people rightly demand.

“Since Labour came to power there has been no meaningful deterrent. The only way to stop the boats is if everyone who crosses the Channel illegally is immediately detained and then removed – either to their own country or a safe third country. Until this happens, the smuggling gangs will continue to ply their deadly trade and the boats will keep coming.”

The Home Office said: “France is our most important migration partner and together our joint work is bearing down on small boat crossings.

“We have prevented over 40,000 crossing attempts since this government took office. Our landmark deal means illegal migrants who arrive on small boats are being sent straight back.”