UK's £63million migration deal with France explained
mirrorNov 14, 2022
Facts
- During a trip to Paris, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Monday signed a revised deal with France in an attempt to reduce illegal English Channel boat crossings. As part of the deal, there will be a 40% uplift in French police patrolling beaches.[1]
- The deal will see the UK pay £63M ($74M) yearly to France, an increase on last year's £54M ($63.5M) funding. Alongside the increase in patrolling police, the UK will also pay for more surveillance equipment such as drones and night vision goggles.[2]
- According to Ministry of Defence figures, a total of 972 people made the crossing in 22 boats on Saturday, Nov. 12 alone, taking the current yearly total to 40,885. This is an increase on the 28,561 crossings recorded in 2021 and the 8,466 the year prior.[3]
- Speaking at the COP27 climate summit, PM Rishi Sunak stated that he was "determined to grip" the situation at the Channel, although admitting that there isn't "one simple solution that's going to solve it overnight".[4]
- The UK has paid £175M ($206M) to Paris since 2018. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper criticized the deal, claiming the Tory government had "failed" to prevent the rise in traffic over the Channel in recent years.[5]
Spin
Left narrative
This 843-word deal lacks sufficient detail and is the entirely wrong approach. With even the PM himself admitting it won't bring an immediate end to the Channel problem, a greater focus should be placed on first clearing the UK's current asylum backlog rather than the moral failure of focusing entirely on enforcement.
Right narrative
The government must stop the growing flow of boats that politicians for years have hoped would go unnoticed by the British public. The current soft border policy is a mistake, which will only fuel further crisis and tragedy. So called "human rights campaigners" now dictate UK immigration policy; many of those attempting to illegally enter the nation are from safe countries and should be sent home.
Nerd narrative
It is estimated that 1.87k migrants will die in 2022 trying to cross the Mediterranean, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
