Yvette Cooper has lauded new tactics used by the French to reduce the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats, before Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the UK this week, during which new initiatives are likely to be announced.
It is understood that a French review of how police could intervene to block boats that are already in the water has been completed, and French and British officials were continuing talks this weekend about what more could be done.
In a departure from their usual practice of not trying to stop boats already in the water, on Friday French police used knives to puncture a boat in shallow seas near Boulogne, in northern France.
If the legal review offers more scope for such direct action, it is possible that French patrol boats could intercept craft carrying asylum seekers to return them, or use other tactics such as jetskis spreading nets that would catch propellers.
Macron, the French president, begins a state visit to the UK on Tuesday, with the first part of the trip focused on royal events, including a stay at Windsor Castle.
On Thursday he is scheduled to see Keir Starmer for an Anglo-French summit, and it is expected that the pair, who spoke by phone on Saturday morning, could announce new cooperative measures on small boats.
In comments released over the weekend, Cooper, the home secretary, said working with the French was “vital to stop boats crossing in the first place”.
She said: “Over the last few months, we have been working together on new ways to crack down on the criminal gang operations, with the French now bringing in important new tactics to stop boats that are in the water.”
Another idea still being discussed is a “one in, one out” plan whereby people who manage to reach England by small boat could be sent back to France in return for the UK accepting another asylum seeker from France who is seen as having a clearer right to claim asylum in Britain, such as through family ties.
The hope is that the combination of a greater likelihood of being stopped in the water, and then the prospect of being returned to France even if the crossing succeeds, could dissuade people from paying people smugglers to try to get them across.
However, it is still not known if the “one in, one out” plan will be ready to be announced in time for Macron’s visit, with UK officials saying there were still “lots of moving parts”.
“We want to get it right,” one UK government source said. “Signing it during the visit would be ideal, but it would be even more ideal to make sure it works properly.”
Starmer and Cooper are facing sustained political pressure to reduce the number of people arriving across the Channel. Despite a government promise to “smash” the gangs organising crossings, more than 20,000 people have crossed to the UK in the first six months of this year, up 48% on the equivalent period in 2024.