UK starts sending migrants back to France to "deter" boat crossings in the English Channel

The United Kingdom has begun repatriating migrants who have crossed the English Channel in France in order to discourage future attempts.

Sajid Javid announced the decision as part of an agreement for the United Kingdom to pay GBP 6 million for security equipment, including drones and video surveillance, along the French coast.

The Home Office said that a small number of migrants who had been in Kent aboard boats at the end of last year had returned to France on Thursday morning.

"There will be a mutual commitment to conduct return operations as soon as possible under the Dublin Regulation," said the Home Office.

"The United Kingdom will continue to work closely with France and other countries to send more migrants into the United Kingdom on a small boat, in order to strongly deter dangerous pbadages."

L & # 39; Independent understands that the return policy was backdated to October 1st, which means that it will apply to hundreds of men, women and children.

Even though they have already applied for asylum in Britain, the government will try to shift the responsibility to France but could face legal action.

Mr Javid had already been convicted for hinting that the authorities would obstruct the claims of those arriving on the British coasts, most of whom had declared their Iranian nationality.

He suggested that those attempting to leave may not have been genuine asylum seekers and he said: "We will do everything in our power to ensure that you will fail often".

Critics described the remarks as disgusting and said any attempt to interfere with asylum requests or to prejudge the outcome would be illegal.

The French authorities have indicated that 71 boat crossing attempts were recorded in 2018, compared with 12 only the previous year.

Of the 504 migrants seeking to cross the Channel, 276 managed to reach British waters and coasts and 228 were intercepted and brought back to France.

More than 80% of launches took place only in November and December, the influx declared by the Minister of the Interior being a major incident.

Tuesday, Mr Javid met with his French counterpart to finalize a joint action plan to stem the crossing, which will allow the UK to pay France £ 6m for new security equipment.

The Home Office announced that it would fund additional surveillance and security on French beaches and ports, as well as greater coordination between French authorities on land and at sea.

A little more than half of the investment will come from the £ 44.5 million already committed under the Sandhurst Treaty, signed a year ago by Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron.

New additional funding of £ 3.2m will be used for equipment including drones, radar, night goggles and a license plate recognition function to allow British and French border and maritime teams to locate the smugglers.

Additional security cameras would be placed in French ports and in areas where migrants could attempt to launch boats, said the Interior Ministry, transmitting live footage to the center of the country. coordination and information Franco-British Calais.

Aerial and maritime surveillance of the Channel would be strengthened, with British and French authorities sharing intelligence and foot patrols along the French coast.

"Both governments have made it clear that all criminals will be prosecuted," said the Home Office. "The new plan will come into effect immediately."

The agreement also provided that migrants encountered in the Channel would be taken to the nearest safe harbor in accordance with international maritime law.

Mr Javid said: "It is essential that we continue to work closely with our French partners to prevent vulnerable migrants from making these dangerous journeys and to attack the smugglers who put their lives at risk.

"Today's joint action plan strengthens our already strong relationship and strengthens joint actions to maintain the security of our two borders and to discourage these dangerous journeys."

Christophe Castaner, French Minister of the Interior, welcomed the commitment of the United Kingdom for the management of the common border.

"By fighting the illegal pbadage of channels by migrants, we save lives and deter new migrants from coming to Hauts-de-France," he said.

The British government had previously deployed another Royal Navy vessel to reinforce the Border Force and Maritime and Coastguard Agency patrols.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested suspects for allegedly organizing some of the crossings, but said that although some recent launches involved criminal groups, others were opportunistic.

Investigators believe that the increase in port security in France, the unusually calm climate and sea conditions in December could have accounted for the influx of refugees.

Despite the highly publicized closure of the "jungle" in Calais, migrants remained in informal camps along the northern coast of France and smugglers continue to open new roads across Europe since points of arrival in Italy, Greece and Spain.

Charities in the north of France warned that the number of families sleeping on the streets in Dunkirk had risen sharply over the summer and that dozens of others had arrived with their children.

The police carried out large-scale evictions, ordering people to board buses to be driven to accommodation centers in nearby towns.

But charities said the lack of support and information to ask for asylum once in the centers meant families were returning to the woods in weeks or even days.

Last month, Josh Hallam, field manager for Help Refugees, said L & # 39; Independent the absolute desperation of refugees in winter has led an increasing number of people to take enormous risks to cross the English Channel, a problem exacerbated by smugglers charging between £ 3,000 and £ 10,000 for a seat at the back of the boat. 39, a truck or on a boat.

"There is a lack of appropriate and reliable information for governments and organizations that could break these myths about the situation and help people access legal travel routes," he said. "The void is filled by people who really exploit and who are dangerous."