PM's Europe ‘reset' has delivered change in French tactics on small boats: No 10
A spokesman said: 'We welcome action from French law enforcement to take action in shallow waters, and what you have seen in recent weeks is a toughening of their approach.'
The Government has repeatedly pushed for French authorities to do more to prevent boats leaving the shore, including changing existing rules to allow police officers to intervene when dinghies are in the water.
Those changes have not yet come into effect, but reports on Friday suggested tougher action was already being taken.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she welcomed the reports, adding she had been 'working very closely with the French interior minister' to ensure the rules were changed 'as swiftly as possible'.
Downing Street attributed the change in stance from French law enforcement was thanks to the Prime Minister's 'reset' in relations with Europe, as he has looked to heal the wounds caused by the Brexit years.
The spokesman said: 'No government has been able to get this level of co-operation with the French. That is important.
'We are looking to see France change its maritime tactics, and that is down to the Prime Minister's efforts to reset our relationship across Europe.'
But a charity operating in northern France told the PA news agency that French police had already been intervening in crossing attempts in shallow waters despite the new rules not yet being in place.
Kate O'Neill, advocacy coordinator at Project Play, said: 'This is not a new tactic … it's something that has been happening for a long time in Calais and surrounding areas.'
She also warned it was a 'dangerous' tactic as children were 'often in the middle of the boats'.
In its manifesto last year, Labour promised to 'smash the gangs' smuggling people across the Channel in small boats.
But a year into Sir Keir's premiership, the number of people making the journey has increased to record levels.
Some 20,600 people have made the journey so far this year, up 52% on the same period in 2024.
Downing Street acknowledged that the numbers 'must come down', but could not guarantee that they would in the next year.
On Friday, Ms Cooper said part of the reason for the increase in crossings was a rise in the number of people being crammed onto each boat.
She suggested that all migrants who arrive on an overcrowded boat where a child has died should face prosecution.
Ms Cooper told the BBC's Today programme it was 'totally appalling' that children were being 'crushed to death on these overcrowded boats, and yet the boat still continues to the UK'.
The Government has already included a new offence of 'endangering life at sea' in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill currently making its way through Parliament.
Ms Cooper has previously said this would allow the authorities to act against people 'involved in behaviour that puts others at risk of serious injury or death, such as physical aggression, intimidation, or rejecting rescue attempts'.
But on Friday, she appeared to go further by suggesting even getting on an overcrowded boat could result in prosecution.
She said: 'If you've got a boat where we've seen all of those people all climb on board that boat, they are putting everybody else's lives at risk.'
Some 15 children are reported to have died while attempting the crossing in 2024, and Ms O'Neill told PA police tactics were making the situation more dangerous.
During a series of broadcast interviews, Ms Cooper also declined to confirm reports the UK was looking at a 'one in, one out' policy that would see people who had crossed the Channel returned to Europe in exchange for asylum seekers with connections to Britain.
Asked about the policy, she would only tell Sky News that ministers were 'looking at a range of different issues' and 'different ways of doing returns'.
Sir Keir is expected to hold a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, at which efforts to tackle small boat crossings are likely to be high on the agenda.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Mum's heartbreaking call for answers 2 years after girls, 8, were killed when Land Rover ploughed into Wimbledon school
THE PARENTS of two eight-year-old girls who were killed when a Land Rover crashed into their school have vowed to "uncover the truth" of what happened that day two years on from the tragic incident. Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau both died after the tragedy at The Study Prep School, in Wimbledon, South West London on July 6, 2023. 4 Selena Lau, eight, was killed in the horror on July 6, 2023 Credit: PA 4 Nuria Sajjad, eight, also lost her life in the tragedy at The Study Prep School in Wimbledon Credit: PA The horror unfolded as a Land Rover Defender smashed through a fence while school children and staff were having a tea-party outside on the last day of term. More than fifteen others were injured in the crash, including a seven-month-old baby girl. Speaking at a remembrance event on Sunday, Nuria's mother Smera Chohan said: "We have had to fight very hard - harder than any victim should ever have had to - but we remain committed to uncovering the truth about what happened." In January, the Metropolitan Police rearrested arrested driver Claire Freemantle 48, on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. She remains in custody while investigations continue. The 48-year-old was originally released after an initial investigation by the Roads and Transport Policing Command, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), concluded she should face no further action. Freemantle claimed she had an epileptic seizure behind the wheel and faced no charges. They added that there was no evidence Ms Freemantle had ever suffered a similar seizure before and she had no previously diagnosed medical condition. A review was carried out by the Specialist Crime Review Group (SCRG). It highlighted issues with how officers carried out the initial investigation. Family, friends & Liverpool teammates gather for Diogo Jota & brother Andre's funeral in Portugal after tragic car crash It was revealed there was a key problem with establishing the evidence of an epileptic seizure, and diagnosis without brain scans. "Our main priority is to ensure the lines of inquiry identified by the review are progressed. I would urge people to avoid speculation," Det Supt Lewis Basford said. At the memorial on Sunday, hundreds of people from the local area joined Nuria's mother Smera Chohan, her father Sajjad Butt and Selena's parents Franky Lau and Jessie Deng. Two benches dedicated to the victims' memories were decorated with flowers and messages and a two minutes' silence was observed. Following a two minutes' silence - one minute for each girl - Ms Chohan delivered an emotional speech. "We still await answers for what happened on that fateful day... and with all your support, we will continue our fight until we have the answers we deserve," Ms Chohan said. "Nothing is going to make our lives the same again... we were parents. "I sometimes don't know if I'm a mother, I need to know why I'm not a mother and Nuria deserved a thorough investigation." Selena's father added: "We are still waiting, we want a version of events that adds up." Helen Lowe, who was the school's headteacher at the time of the crash, said: "There are still no answers to what happened on that day, and in that two-year period, there have been a number of events which involved awful tragedy for children. "But the people who perpetrated those events have had to be answerable, and we don't have that, which makes it - for the parents and for us - impossible to move on." To provide information you can contact the major incident room on 0207 175 0793, call 101 quoting CAD 6528/27Jan, or message @MetCC on X providing the CAD reference. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online. 4 More than fifteen others were injured in the crash, including a seven-month-old baby girl Credit: UKNIP
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Axing two-child benefit limit still on table but 'harder' after welfare U-turn
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson insisted the Government will 'continue to look at every lever to lift children out of poverty' after reports plans to scrap two child limit 'dead' Scrapping the two-child benefit limit remains on the table - but last week's welfare U-turn will make it harder, a top minister has said. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson insisted the Government was "looking at every lever and we'll continue to look at every lever to lift children out of poverty". But she said it would be more difficult to find the money to axe the austerity-era measure after Keir Starmer was forced to gut his planned disability benefit cuts to see off a Labour revolt. The welfare climbdown has left a £5billion hole in Rachel Reeves's spending plans. Ms Phillipson, who is working on a long-awaited child poverty strategy, distanced herself from reports that plans to scrap the two-child limit were now "dead in the water". Many Labour MPs oppose the cap, which could become a new focal point for tensions between backbenchers and Downing Street. The policy, introduced in 2017, restricts claims for Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit to the first two children. About 1.6 million children live in households affected by it, which would cost around £3.4billion a year to lift. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has estimated that getting rid of the cap would lift 500,000 children out of relative poverty. Asked if the Government could no longer afford to scrap it, she told the BBC: "We're looking at every lever, we will continue to look at every lever to lift children out of poverty. It will be the moral mission of this Labour government, to lift children out of poverty." But she said there was a cost to the decision to shelve plans to restrict eligibility for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) until after a review next year. Ms Phillipson said: "The decisions that have been taken in the last week do make decisions, future decisions harder. But all of that said, we will look at this collectively in terms of all of the ways that we can lift children out of poverty." She said she was "not going to pretend that it hasn't been a tough or a challenging week" and acknowledged that the Government botched its handling of the welfare reforms. "What the Prime Minister has said, and what I also believe, is that what we set out, we pushed ahead too fast, we didn't listen enough to people, including, I would say, including to lots of people who had concerns about the nature of that change," she said.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Police chiefs call for cuts to number of forces in England and Wales
Police chiefs in England and Wales have told ministers that the number of forces should be cut to end 'the postcode lottery for victims of crime', the Guardian has learned. They believe a reduction from the current 43 forces would save money, cut overheads and boost crime-fighting efforts. Law enforcement leaders told the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, last month at a roundtable on police reform that they were in agreement about the need for the change. Cooper has already backed other police reforms, such as setting up a national centre for policing, and believes the way policing across England and Wales is organised is out of date. But a lack of money threatens to delay changes and some smaller forces may oppose the changes. One source said any changes could start with smaller forces merging or being abolished. In the west, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire could merge. In the Midlands, Warwickshire could join with the West Mercia force or be absorbed by the much bigger West Midlands force. In the east, the Norfolk and Suffolk forces could merge. The West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and the South Yorkshire forces could also merge. Gavin Stephens, the chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, told the Guardian: 'Police reform is about restructuring policing so that it can keep up with modern criminality, retaining the bedrock of community policing whilst modernising our workforce to deal with national threats such as organised crime and violence against women and girls. 'Our current model of 43 different police forces in England and Wales has a wide range of geographical size, workforce size and operational capabilities. There is also real variation in financial resilience and the ability to invest, which means policing operates in subtly different ways with often incompatible technology, which leads to inefficiencies and inconsistency. 'A smaller number of police forces, supported by a national policing organisation, would enable us to make decisions far quicker and maximise funding to invest in technology and our workforce. Making improvements to our service once and for all, instead of in 43 different ways, would help to end the postcode lottery victims face when reporting crime.' One senior source said: 'Everyone is in agreement we need fewer forces. It would create efficiencies and greater effectiveness.' Another source with knowledge of discussions said: 'Chiefs of smaller forces are nervous but accept this is where the tide is going. We hope for a phased reduction over the next decade.' No changes are expected to happen in this parliament, and any change of government after the next election could lead to the agreement to abolish police forces being scuppered. Politically, it was believed a reduction in the number of forces would have to happen under Labour. MPs representing Conservative areas, which tend to be less urban, feared police would move from more rural areas to areas where crime tended to be higher. One chief constable said that if their force absorbed a smaller force, people in more rural areas could be offered a guarantee about how many officers would be ringfenced to protect them. As yet, no detailed plans have been drawn up or presented to the government, but Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner, said he favoured a reduction to as few as 12 forces. It is understood that this is the number of forces senior police chiefs think should ultimately cover England and Wales. In a piece for the Sunday Times, Rowley said: 'The 43-force model was designed in the 1960s and hasn't been fit for purpose for at least two decades. It hinders the effective confrontation of today's threats and stops us fully reaping the benefits of technology. 'We need to reduce the number of forces by two-thirds, with the new, bigger and fully capable regional forces supported by the best of modern technology and making better use of the limited funding available.' In Scotland, forces have already merged into one organisation covering the entire country, which is the second largest in the UK behind the Met. Northern Ireland is also covered by a single force.
