The French police’s interception rate of illegal migrants has barely moved despite a £660million deal with the UK to stop the boats, an analysis of Home Office data has revealed.
While the Labour Government boasts the prevention of small boat crossings has jumped since the bilateral agreement, the interception rate – the share of migrant crossings prevented versus the total number of attempts – has barely moved.
French police revealed today they have prevented 185 small boats from crossing the Channel in the three months since Britain agreed the deal to patrol the beaches, but failed to stop 120 boats from arriving in Britain – an interception rate of 60.7 per cent.
By comparison, in the chillier three months before the deal was signed, French police stopped 131 small boats with 83 slipping through to reach the UK – an interception rate of 61.2 per cent.
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Within the 185 boat preventions – equivalent to around two stops a day – some 4,312 migrants were stopped from reaching Britain.
The Gendarmerie’s stops represent a five per cent increase compared to this time last year.
Labour insists the plan to stop the boats is working despite people smugglers using increasingly larger “mega-dinghies” and new tactics, carrying upwards of 160 migrants on several occasions.
Labour forked out £662million for the deal, which includes a conditional £100million dependent on the French authorities’ success.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood insisted the deal is “already having a real impact, stopping crossings before they happen and disrupting the criminal gangs behind them”, adding: “People smugglers should be in no doubt, we’re taking down their operations, seizing their equipment and breaking their business model for good.”
Yesterday, shocking new footage released by the Home Office showed wannabe small boat migrants launching a vicious attack on French police as their illegal crossing was stopped.
Life jacket-clad migrants can be seen hurling projectiles at officers to try to keep them away from a large dinghy as it prepares to launch from a beach.
The video captured police then deploying pepper spray to ward off the attackers.
Pushing them away, the officers then appear to slash the dinghy with a knife and put an end to that attempt to break into Britain.
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