UK asylum system is ‘a draw’ for migrants, expert says
The interior minister is looking at how to make sure the French “have everything they need” to reduce the number of people making the crossing “effective”.
It comes when Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron agree they must step up work to make the small boat route “completely unfeasible”.
Government insiders said there is now a “strong alignment of political will” at higher levels on both sides of the Channel, a “positive” sign that progress can be made.
The UK previously agreed to give France £54 million to reduce the number of migrants trying to reach England’s east coast.
Drones, intelligence sharing and operational support were all part of a deal to help French authorities stop people smugglers launching unsafe boats into the sea.
Ms. Braverman has gone back to the deal to see if she can build on it to get better results. Sources said she isn’t trying to impose targets on France, but is instead looking at “what’s ideal and how to achieve it”.
The aim is to double the proportion of migrants stopped by the French authorities before entering the sea to more than 80 percent. Mrs. Braverman is said to have a good relationship with colleague Gerald Darmanin, with whom she speaks in French.
Braverman considers extra support for France to solve the migrant crisis (Image: Getty)
Both countries face political and practical difficulties in tackling the small boat crisis, but “have a strong motivation to make this much better than it is”.
More than 38,400 migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year, according to preliminary government figures. The number surpasses last year’s total, when about 28,500 migrants were recorded making the journey.
Sunak tried to restore relations with France after tensions among his predecessors. In their first phone call yesterday, the prime minister and the French president agreed to “deepen” the work to deal with the crisis.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister stressed the importance for both countries of making the Channel Route completely unfeasible for people smugglers. The leaders are committed to deepening our partnership to deter deadly journeys across the Channel that benefit organized criminals.”
The pair also agreed on a “huge number of areas” where it is “vital” for the countries to work together, including Ukraine, climate, defense and the economy, Number 10 said.
Prime Minister and President Macron will continue plans agreed under Boris Johnson to hold a summit between the UK and France next year. MEPs said the solution is in “French hands”, but both countries would have to work together to reach an agreement.
Sunak hopes to restore relations with France (Image: Getty)
About 12,000 Albanians are among the migrants who have arrived on the British coast this year. Tim Loughton, a member of the House of Commons select committee on Home Affairs, said two years ago there were only 50 and about 10,000 single young men.
The Conservative MP said the appeals process means people who have no legitimate claim could “delay it for months” and that “many of the Albanian economic migrants” are “playing the system”.
He said: “They take their place for people who are really escaping danger and who need our duty of care to help them be safe here.”
Many Albanians going to the UK would use modern charges of slavery to claim residency in the country.
Mr Loughton said 28,000 migrants had been stopped from leaving French shores, but it could in fact be a small group of the same migrants making repeated attempts to cross as they are not arrested at the time.
He said: “We need a serious commitment from the French and we need to have some serious discussions about how to stop those people and then actually take them into custody to see if they have a legitimate claim to be in France and then treat them accordingly.
“We will have to make concessions to the French in return, so that those people may be able to apply for asylum in the UK from French territory. The solution is in French hands… but this is a shared problem and we need to find a shared solution.”
Whitehall sources rejected the suggestion, warning that it would make France an even more attractive destination for migrants trying to enter the UK illegally.
Nathalie Goulet is a member of the Senate of France, she is a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
She told the BBC: “The UK is so attractive. So many people want to flee France, so maybe you should be less attractive.”
The Department of Defense (MoD) on Thursday recorded 308 people arriving in nine boats, bringing the number who made the trip in October alone to more than 5,400.
On Wednesday, the extent of the crisis was exposed by Interior Ministry officials as they testified to MPs.
The Commons Home Affairs Committee heard that the government is now spending nearly £7 million a day on housing asylum seekers in hotels and that costs could continue to rise.
The MPs also found that the department processed just four percent of asylum applications from migrants who crossed the Channel last year, while officials admitted the number of French police interceptions of migrants attempting the journey has fallen.
Meanwhile, an immigration watchdog told the commission that he was “speechless” by the conditions at the Manston migrant processing center in Kent and warned that the site had already passed the point of being unsafe.
The revelations prompted the Refugee Council to call for “urgent” action and to meet with ministers to discuss proposals to address the issues.