Britain set to hand over £450 MILLION to France for more beach patrols and new migrant centre

Britain set to hand over £450 MILLION to France for more beach patrols and new migrant centre
Tony Smith discusses Britain’s relationship with France over small boat crossings - and says the crisis demands more boots on the ground |

GB NEWS

Peter Stevens

By Peter Stevens


Published: 29/03/2026

- 05:45

British and French authorities are engaged in negotiations over their border patrol agreement, set to expire on Tuesday

Britain is set to hand over £450 million to France to fund more beach patrols and a new migrant centre.

The UK and France's current £475 million border patrol agreement, originally signed by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is set to expire on Tuesday unless a new deal is agreed.


Officials from both sides of the Channel met in Paris last week to renegotiate the agreement.

The original deal included a new detention centre to be built in Dunkirk, France, in addition to more French beach patrols and the use of enhanced technology to prevent crossings.

The detention centre, originally intended to become fully operational this year, has been delayed by planning issues.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is said to be determined to force France to finish the detention centre before any further negotiations can continue.

The Home Office last year offered to extend the existing deal until 2027, conditional on the completion of the construction of this facility.

Downing Street agreed to help fund the centre with the hopes that French authorities would use it to detain and remove migrants attempting to cross the Channel from France's shores.

Shabana Mahmood

Ms Mahmood is said to be holding out on negotiations until the detention centre is complete

|
GETTY

Ms Mahmood is said to favour a model where Britain would only pay France in proportion to successful interceptions made by France's migrant patrols.

French authorities currently intercept around 37 per cent of attempted crossings - down from more than 50 per cent in 2023 when the deal, worth nearly £500million, was agreed.

Reform UK's spokesman for Home Affairs, Zia Yusuf, said on social media that his party would "demand a full refund".

He said: "Tory and Labour governments have paid £700 million so far, and the boats keep coming in record numbers.

Zia Yusuf, Reform UK's spokesman for Home Affairs

Reform UK's spokesman for Home Affairs Zia Yusuf said he would scrap the UK-France deal and 'demand a full refund'

|

GETTY

"The French are laughing at us.

"Reform would scrap the deal and demand a full refund from the French."

GB News revealed earlier this week that nearly 1,000 migrants crossed the Channel in just six days, taking advantage of improved weather conditions.

The British taxpayer currently contributes the majority of border patrol funding.

Small boat migrants arrive at Ramsgate

Britain paid 62 per cent of the total cost to France of patrolling the northern coast for illegal migrants

|

GETTY

French police on Gravelines beach France

French police currently intercept around 37 per cent of attempted crossings

|

GETTY

Figures released by the French Government earlier this month revealed the UK provided 62 per cent of the total cost to France of patrolling the northern coast for illegal migrants.

This means that £155 million was covered by British taxpayers of the £250 million available.

Last week, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said: "I won’t get ahead of the negotiations but we are looking at how we can build flexibility and innovation into any new deal with the French to ensure that there is long-term value for money and a real impact on small boat crossings."

He added there was no single "silver bullet" to deal with illegal migration, and the deal was just "one tool in our armory".

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 by illegal migrants since this government took office. Our landmark deal means illegal migrants who arrive on small boats are being sent back to France."