{"id":116236,"date":"2026-09-02T22:59:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T22:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/116236\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T22:59:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T22:59:25","slug":"uk-and-france-boost-channel-police-numbers-to-deter-new-mega-dinghies-from-crossing-into-britain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/116236\/","title":{"rendered":"UK and France boost Channel police numbers to deter new mega-dinghies from crossing into Britain"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Prime Minister will welcome the French president to No 10 on Thursday for their first bilateral meeting.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the talks, Mr Burnham said the two countries must \u201cstay one step ahead\u201d of the criminals\u2019 evolving tactics as he vowed not to be \u201ccomplacent\u201d after a fall in the number of small boat arrivals.<\/p>\n

While the combined total number of boat crossings over the summer months has dropped to its lowest since 2019, smugglers appear to have started loading more people on to fewer, larger vessels.<\/p>\n

No 10 said measures to counter the trend include deploying a surge team of 45 officers to French western beaches in the coming weeks, almost tripling resources in the area.<\/p>\n

A specialist French intelligence and judicial team seeking to root out and prosecute smuggling networks has grown from 18 to 30 officers.<\/p>\n

Read More: Laila Cunningham asks: Do immigrants owe anything to Britain?<\/a><\/p>\n

Read More: Nearly 500 migrants cross Channel in single day after ten-day hiatus<\/a><\/p>\n

And a new 75-strong unit focused on curbing crossings has begun operations in northern France, taking the total number of officers to nearly 1,050.<\/p>\n

Mr Burnham said in a statement: \u201cThe progress we have seen this summer shows what can be achieved when the UK and France work together.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I am clear that we cannot be complacent. Smuggling gangs are constantly adapting their tactics, and the UK and France need to respond quickly and stay one step ahead of the criminals facilitating the dangerous crossings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe small boats crisis is a shared European challenge, and no country can solve it alone. Working with France and our international partners, we will restore order and control to our borders and prevent smugglers exploiting vulnerable migrants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: \u201cWe are boosting officer numbers to record highs to crack down on small boat launches and the gangs behind them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis work is bearing fruit. Over 48,000 crossing attempts have been prevented, small boat crossing numbers are down and removals of those here illegally are at record levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we are not complacent and we must be relentless. We will continue efforts on all fronts to tackle these illegal and dangerous crossings.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as migration, Mr Burnham and Mr Macron will discuss the Ukraine and Iran wars and their impact on Europe\u2019s security and economy, No 10 said.<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister will push for greater co-operation with Europe, Downing Street said, as he looks set to continue his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s policy of a \u201creset\u201d of UK-EU relations.<\/p>\n

During Wednesday\u2019s Prime Minister\u2019s Questions, Mr Burnham reiterated that Britain\u2019s decade of low growth \u201chas been partly a result of Brexit\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do want a closer relationship \u2013 I will build on the work of my predecessor,\u201d he told MPs, ahead of a UK-EU summit later in the year.<\/p>\n

Mr Macron is the first European leader to visit the UK since Mr Burnham took office in July.<\/p>\n

The pair joined the King and the Queen to visit the Bayeux Tapestry at London\u2019s British Museum on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Prime Minister will welcome the French president to No 10 on Thursday for their first bilateral meeting.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[5,6],"class_list":["post-116236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117203931197686074","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}