 over the same period last year. There have been fewer overall attempted crossings this year, partly because of bad weather. The three-year £480 million Anglo-French deal agreed by Rishi Sunak in March as a key part of his pledge to 'stop the boats' dwarfs the £54 million Britain paid France in 2021. On Thursday night, the figures – obtained by The Telegraph from the French authorities – were described as 'disappointing' and 'dismal' by Tory MPs, who demanded an immediate value for money investigation of what UK taxpayers were getting for the money. It comes days after it was confirmed that the EU has rejected a new migrant returns agreement with the UK and less than a week after six Afghan migrants died in the Channel when their overcrowded dinghy got into difficulties. The injection of taxpayers' money is paying for a doubling in officers patrolling French beaches to 800, a joint command centre and a detention centre to prevent migrants from leaving France. France, however, has resisted joint patrols and has only allowed Border Force officers to act as observers. It has also refused to turn back boats in the sea. Housing migrants in hotels in Britain is costing taxpayers £6 million a day.){kind=link}
Just 45.2 per cent of those trying to cross Channel have been halted, even with extra financial support from Britain
France is intercepting fewer Channel migrants than last year despite a £480 million funding deal with Britain to help stop crossings, The Telegraph can reveal.
Official figures show that just 13,759 – or 45.2 per cent – of migrants have been stopped by French beach patrols since January, down from 17,032 (45.8 per cent) over the same period last year. There have been fewer overall attempted crossings this year, partly because of bad weather.
The three-year £480 million Anglo-French deal agreed by Rishi Sunak in March as a key part of his pledge to “stop the boats” dwarfs the £54 million Britain paid France in 2021.
On Thursday night, the figures – obtained by The Telegraph from the French authorities – were described as “disappointing” and “dismal” by Tory MPs, who demanded an immediate value for money investigation of what UK taxpayers were getting for the money.