France rejects Britain’s offer to intercept and return small boat migrants in fresh blow to Shabana Mahmood

Peter Stevens
Thu, 09 Apr 2026 01:07:15 +0000

France has rejected a proposal from Shabana Mahmood to allow British Border Force vessels to intercept and return small boat migrants across the Channel.

The Home Secretary tabled the plan as part of negotiations to renew a multimillion-pound migrant patrol deal.

The current agreement was due to expire in March but was extended by two months while talks continue.

Under the proposal, British Border Force vessels would intercept small boats before they reached UK waters and return migrants to northern France.

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However, French authorities rejected the plan as it would have required British vessels to enter French territorial waters.

Details of the negotiations were reported by French newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné.

As part of the existing arrangement, the British Government funded the purchase of 100 police vehicles in the Pas de Calais region to patrol for illegal migrants and people smugglers, the paper said.

French officials have reportedly made clear that the sovereignty of their territorial waters is a red line.

The two sides are understood to be at an impasse, with Britain pushing for a migrant detention centre in Dunkirk and an increase in French patrols.

The extension of the current deal is costing British taxpayers £16.5million and is set to expire at the end of next month.

Ms Mahmood has proposed a payment-by-results model for the new agreement and is seeking a higher interception rate than the current 35 per cent.

A former Home Office source previously told The Times that France rejected a target of 80 per cent.

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Last month, Xavier Ducept, France’s general secretary for the sea, said linking funding to interception rates would not be possible and could endanger lives.

The French newspaper also reported that British taxpayers funded nearly £20million for a helicopter used by elite French riot police.

Earlier this week, GB News reported that the Border Security Command used new vessels to pick up small boat migrants for the first time.

More than 300 migrants crossed the Channel on Wednesday as temperatures rose.

More than 5,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year.

Home Office figures show the French interception rate has fallen to its lowest level, with 2,064 of 6,233 attempted crossings stopped.

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

"We have prevented over 42,000 attempts by illegal migrants to make the journey across the Channel since this government took office.

"While we finalise a new and improved UK-France deal, French law enforcement operations to stop illegal migrants in France will continue. We will do whatever it takes to restore order and control at our borders."