The British government on Sunday appointed a former Royal Marine to lead efforts to tackle illegal migration in the Channel ahead of talks with France on how to stop the dangerous crossings. Recent days have seen a surge in attempts by migrants in France to cross the busy shipping route to the English coast on makeshift vessels.

On Sunday, British Home Secretary Priti Patel appointed former Royal Marine Dan O’Mahoney, a maritime security expert, to take on a new role as the government’s “clandestine Channel threat commander”.

“The number of illegal small boat crossings is appalling,” she said.

“We are working to make this route unviable and arresting the criminals facilitating these crossings and making sure they are brought to justice.

“Dan’s appointment is vital to cutting this route by bringing together all operational partners in the UK and in France.”

Further talks due in Paris

Patel visited the French port of Calais last month to agree a new joint police unit to share intelligence on trafficking networks. London’s immigration minister, Chris Philp, is due in Paris for further talks on Tuesday.

Britain’s interior ministry has made a formal request for the Royal Navy to help but campaigners warn any military intervention to stop boats could be dangerous and could face legal challenges.

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported that officials were planning for naval and border force vessels to pick up the migrants and take them directly back to northern France.

However, such a deal would require French involvement and the newspaper claims that Paris is demanding 33 million euros from London to help fund patrols.

No comment on payment demand from Paris

The French government declined to comment on the demand for payment but confirmed it was in the final stages of drawing up a joint plan with Britain.

It noted that patrol boats are making daily interventions although Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told Patel last month that “more resources” were needed.

Since 1 January, the French authorities have intercepted at least 810 migrants trying to cross the Channel to England, according to official figures.

The French interior ministry said that between January and July 2020, authorities had stopped five times as many crossings as in the same period last year — and ten times as many in July alone.

Analysis from Britain’s PA news agency shows more than 4,100 people have successfully made the journey to England this year, with 151 arriving on Saturday alone.

Source: https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20200809-british-government-steps-up-efforts-to-stop-migrants-crossing-channel

The post British government steps up efforts to stop migrants crossing Channel first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Migrants who cross the Channel in small boats should be returned to France before they can apply for asylum, the former head of the Border Force said.

Tony Smith said it would be the only way to stop people smugglers risking the lives of vulnerable people.

An agreement between French and British governments would be needed, he said.

Home Office minister Chris Philp said the government was “reviewing laws that prevent us from taking stronger action to stop illegal migration”.

Priti Patel and her French counterpart Christophe Castaner pledged in September 2019 to make crossings an “infrequent phenomenon” by spring 2020.

More than 2,400 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year, while at least 4,500 have done so since November 2018.

Mr. Smith, who served as Border Force’s interim director general between 2012 and 2013, told the BBC that returning migrants to France would “send a message to the smugglers that it’s not going to work”.

‘People will drown’

Turning overcrowded boats back at sea is “really quite difficult” without risking lives because migrants have been “coached” by smugglers to resist rescue by the French and only accept assistance from British vessels, he said.

Britain currently has “no authority to return them to France”, so once intercepted by Border Force migrants are brought to the UK, where they typically claim asylum, he said.

“The only practical solution that I think can be achieved would be an international agreement with the French that would enable us to return people, once we have established they are safe and well,” he said.

He said all efforts so far on both sides of the Channel had failed to “break the mold,” adding: “We have got to find a way of stopping this because people are going to drown.”

Bridget Chapman, of Kent Refugee Action Network, said the government should instead offer “safe and legal passage to those looking for refuge”.

“Shutting the door in people’s faces will not solve the problem and it is an abdication of our moral duty,” she said.

French Conservative MP Pierre-Henri Dumont has previously called for migrants to be allowed to claim asylum at British embassies across Europe.

Mr. Philp said the government was “tackling these crossings at every level,” adding: “We continue to work tirelessly with our French counterparts who have stopped over 1,000 migrants this year from making the perilous journey.”

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-53238473

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