Minister for Border Security and Asylum says "landmark" deal will see an expansion of enforcement activity in Northern France
Alex Norris, the Minister for Border Security and Asylum, has today issued a written statement to the Commons outlining the Government's latest measures to address irregular migration across the English Channel and prevent small boat crossings.
Image credit: WikipediaThe Minister announced that the Home Secretary will today agree a "landmark" new deal with the French Minister of the Interior that will see an expansion of enforcement activity and an increase in joint operational capacity between the UK and French authorities.
Under the new £662 million multi-year partnership, the number of frontline officers in Northern France will be increased, alongside enhanced surveillance capabilities using drones and aircraft, and an expansion of maritime operations to intercept vessels at sea. The deal also provides for additional specialist policing units and greater intelligence sharing to target smuggling networks.
According to BBC News, the number of asylum seekers crossing the Channel this year is down by over one-third. Between 1 January and 18 April 2026, 6,077 people crossed the Channel by small boat, a 35% decrease compared with the corresponding period in 2025.
In a statement today, the Humans for Rights Network, which works in solidarity with people forced to migrate, described the new deal between the UK and France as an "abhorrent escalation in tactics that have already produced record violence and fatalities."
Maddie Harris, Director of Humans for Rights Network, said the deal signifies a new "all time low" with regard to the Government's attempts to prevent people from claiming asylum in the UK. She said it includes "further horrific tactics that will only result in further death and violence, for example an expansion of maritimes tactics - tactics that have in recent months resulted in boats arriving to collect people further out to see, forcing people to swim to and in some cases being unable to reach these boats causing near drowning and death."
The full text of the Minister's statement is reproduced below.
Illegal Migration: Small Boat Crossings
Statement made on 23 April 2026
Statement UIN HCWS1540
Statement made by
Alex Norris
The Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum
I have been clear about this Government's determination to crack down on small boats. No one should be making dangerous journeys, undermining our border security and putting lives at risk. We must restore order and control to our borders. That means bearing down on these dangerous crossings and bringing people smugglers to justice.
I wish to update the House on our joint work with France on tackling illegal migration. The new multi-step approach delivered under this Government and endorsed at last summer's UK/France Summit has already had a significant impact: since the election, joint work with the French has prevented over 42,000 small boat crossing attempts through intervention and dispersal. Joint law enforcement operations have also seen 480 migrant traffickers arrested in 2025 alone.
We must go further. Today, on Thursday 23 April 2026, the Home Secretary will agree a landmark £662 million multi-year partnership with the French Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez. This deal boosts law enforcement boots on the ground, scales up French maritime interventions and increases intelligence sharing to target smuggling networks at every stage of the route. Specifically, this deal includes:
• A significant uplift in frontline law enforcement, front-loading deployment in time for the summer. Numbers will increase by 42% to nearly 1,100 law enforcement, intelligence and other frontline officers in Northern France to track down illegal migrants and stop them boarding boats.
• Five specially trained police units, including a new riot police unit, specially trained in the use of riot and crowd control tactics and equipment will be deployed to deal with violent tactics.
• The French will roll out millions of pounds of state-of-the-art worth of drone surveillance, two new helicopters and a new camera system surveillance to track down and intercept people smugglers and illegal migrants.
• Expanding maritime capability to intercept taxi boats at sea. In the last two months, the French have stopped six migrant taxi boats, returning all migrants to France and sentencing five smugglers to prison and deportation. We are backing these tactics with a new vessel and an increase of more than 20 additional maritime officers.
Of the total £662 million, the UK has committed to a foundation fund of £501m committed over three years and a new flexible innovation fund of £51m in year 1 and £110m in years 2 and 3. If these new tactics are not working, funding will stop after one year and put into activity that does. This new deal is underpinned by robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that ensure every intervention is evidence-led and responsive to changing circumstances. Every pound spent will target impact, maximising the effectiveness of UK investment to tackle small boat crossings.
Our work with France is complemented by the most far-reaching overhaul of the asylum and migration system in modern times. This programme of reform outlined in Restoring order and control: a statement on the government's asylum and returns policy (CP 1418) is reshaping the UK's protection and settlement offer to make the system faster, firmer and significantly less open to abuse. This government is closing every asylum hotel, moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation including ex-military sites.
We have already removed or deported nearly 60,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals since this government took office – up 31%, and immigration enforcement action to tackle illegal working has reached the highest levels in British history with an 83% rise in arrests and 77% increase in raids.
This historic agreement shows how this government is working with international allies and taking action to secure our borders and deliver a transformed, results-based partnership with strong safeguards for taxpayers.