Shabana Mahmood told to stop paying France amid fears deal could cost £1.4BILLION – as GB News reveals true scale of migrant crossings

Jack Walters
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 05:01:01 +0000

Shabana Mahmood has been urged to secure a prevention rate pledge from Emmanuel Macron or pull the plug on negotiations with France amid fears Britain’s border bill could spiral to £1.4billion.

The Home Secretary, who added £16.2million to France’s coffers this week by extending Rishi Sunak’s 2023 deal for another two months, is currently locked in negotiations for a revamped cross-Channel accord.

The UK is expected to pay France £650million when a new deal is agreed, with Labour already committing to £100million in its “one-in, one-out” pilot scheme.

However, critics warn Mr Sunak’s £476million deal from three years ago did little to curb Channel crossings, with GB News's provisional figures suggesting 109,336 small boat migrants completed the 21-mile journey during the following 1,118 days.

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The UK also paid France £45.5million in its 2018 Sandhurst Treaty Commitment, coughing up an extra £55million amid a surge in arrivals in 2021 and £63million in 2022.

Ms Mahmood is coming under increasing pressure to get a grip of the migrant crisis, with Sir Keir Starmer’s record now worse than any other Prime Minister.

Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf suggested France was pocketing hundreds of millions of pounds at the expense of the British taxpayer.

“Shameful Tory and Labour Governments have sent millions of pounds to France to ‘stop the boats’, yet 100,000 illegal migrants have arrived on our shores in that time,” Mr Yusuf told GB News.

“The French are laughing at us. Reform would immediately scrap any deal and demand a full refund from France.”

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp stopped short of calling for a complete end to negotiations, instead urging Ms Mahmood to secure an 80 per cent prevention rate from France before agreeing to any additional payments.

He said: “I’ve seen the French authorities do nothing to stop small boats crossing the Channel, making a total mockery of the hundreds of millions British taxpayers pay them.

“Scrapping the Rwanda scheme now looks like a serious mistake, removing a key deterrent while crossings surge under Labour.

“Any new deal with France should require at least an 80 per cent prevention rate, but Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood are too weak to demand that.”

Ms Mahmood faced fury just hours after GB News revealed that 320 small boat migrants attempted to cross the Channel yesterday.

Two illegal migrants died during the attempted journey, taking the overall death toll up to 164 since 2018.

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A study by the Centre for Sociodigital Futures at the University of Bristol suggested deaths in the Channel have increased since the UK struck its 2023 deal with France.

However, Labour could also renegotiate the terms of its “one-in, one-out” deal with France in the coming months, with the pilot scheme coming up for renewal on June 11.

Analysis by GB News shows 20,797 small boat migrants have arrived on British shores since Labour’s flagship “one-in, one-out” deal came into force in August 2025.

France has accepted just 305 migrants under the scheme, while 367 asylum seekers were transferred to the UK under the pilot scheme.

However, a former Home Office official warned that France’s inaction is a sign of Emmanuel Macron’s push to punish Britons for voting to leave the European Union.

“The French could solve this overnight if they wanted to,” the ex-insider told GB News. “But Macron is determined to punish us for Brexit.

“If the Government wants to stop the boats, they need their own deterrent – anything else is a waste of time.”

Ex-Immigration Minister Kevin Foster also echoed concerns about Mr Macron refusing to take the small boats crisis seriously.

He said: “A further deal must include detaining and removing those caught trying to make an illegal crossing.

“If they don’t want to claim asylum in modern democratic France, then there’s no reason they can’t be returned to their home country.

“Sadly, I don’t think Macron has the backbone to do this, yet a future French President might.”

National Rally’s Jordan Bardella, who is promising to stop the small boats crisis, is currently polling ahead of his nearest rivals.

However, the Labour Government is hoping its revamped deal with France will help curb the number of arrivals.

The initial £476million package funded a dedicated unit of nearly 700 officers tasked with intercepting small boats and patrolling the French coastline.

It also included funds for a new detention centre and hundreds of extra law enforcement officers.

Following the emergency extension of the Anglo-French deal yesterday, Ms Mahmood said: "Our work with France has stopped 42,000 attempts by illegal migrants to make the journey across the Channel.

“While we finalise a new and improved UK-France deal, French law enforcement operations to stop illegal migrants in France will continue.

“I will do whatever it takes to restore order and control at our borders.”

However, just 2,064 out of 6,233 attempted crossings in the first 12 weeks of 2026 were stopped, equating to around 33.1 per cent.

The figure is down compared to the 35.1 per cent rate recorded last year and the 26.7 per cent figure in 2024.

The current trajectory suggests 2026 could mark the lowest rate of interceptions since the small boats crisis began in 2018, down from a peak of 46.9 per cent in 2023.

Despite France’s torrid record in stopping small boats from leaving Calais, the Home Office continues to point out how nearly 60,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals have been deported under Labour.

The figure, which equates to a 31 per cent increase, includes around 43,000 who left the UK voluntarily.

Immigration enforcement action to tackle illegal working has also resulted in an 83 per cent increase in arrests and a 77 per cent surge in raids.

Ms Mahmood’s two-month extension deal will now see French law enforcement, intelligence and military reservist officers remain operational on the Calais coast as part of a push to track down people smugglers and thwart small boat crossings.

A Home Office spokesman said: “These proposals are completely reckless and would see a surge in illegal migrants working in Britain.

“Look at the work the Labour Government has done with the French since the election which has stopped 42,000 illegal migrant crossings. Farage would welcome them with open arms.”