PM's Europe ‘reset' has delivered change in French tactics on small boats: No 10
Number 10 said reports French police officers had used knives to puncture a boat in waters off the French coast for the first time were a 'significant moment' that could have 'a major impact' on smuggling gangs.
A spokesman said: 'We welcome action from French law enforcement to take action in shallow waters, and what you have seen in recent weeks is a toughening of their approach.'
The Government has repeatedly pushed for French authorities to do more to prevent boats leaving the shore, including changing existing rules to allow police officers to intervene when dinghies are in the water.
Those changes have not yet come into effect, but reports on Friday suggested tougher action was already being taken.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she welcomed the reports, adding she had been 'working very closely with the French interior minister' to ensure the rules were changed 'as swiftly as possible'.
Downing Street attributed the change in stance from French law enforcement was thanks to the Prime Minister's 'reset' in relations with Europe, as he has looked to heal the wounds caused by the Brexit years.
The spokesman said: 'No government has been able to get this level of co-operation with the French. That is important.
'We are looking to see France change its maritime tactics, and that is down to the Prime Minister's efforts to reset our relationship across Europe.'
But a charity operating in northern France told the PA news agency that French police had already been intervening in crossing attempts in shallow waters despite the new rules not yet being in place.
Kate O'Neill, advocacy coordinator at Project Play, said: 'This is not a new tactic … it's something that has been happening for a long time in Calais and surrounding areas.'
She also warned it was a 'dangerous' tactic as children were 'often in the middle of the boats'.
Responding to footage of Friday's incident broadcast by the BBC, Ms O'Neill said: 'The events taking place in the BBC coverage are not only upsetting to watch, but show clear evidence of police officers endangering a child.'
She added: 'While talks are ongoing to allow the interception of boats in shallow water, it remains illegal at this time under maritime law and violates the obligations of the UK and France under international law – including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
'This footage highlights the danger involved in intercepting and slashing boats in the water, and we implore decision makers to consider the potentially fatal consequences of allowing this to take place even more frequently.'
In its manifesto last year, Labour promised to 'smash the gangs' smuggling people across the Channel in small boats.
But a year into Sir Keir's premiership, the number of people making the journey has increased to record levels.
Some 20,600 people have made the journey so far this year, up 52% on the same period in 2024.
Downing Street acknowledged that the numbers 'must come down', but could not guarantee that they would in the next year.
On Friday, Ms Cooper said part of the reason for the increase in crossings was a rise in the number of people being crammed onto each boat.
She suggested that all migrants who arrive on an overcrowded boat where a child has died should face prosecution.
Ms Cooper told the BBC's Today programme it was 'totally appalling' that children were being 'crushed to death on these overcrowded boats, and yet the boat still continues to the UK'.
The Government has already included a new offence of 'endangering life at sea' in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill currently making its way through Parliament.
Ms Cooper has previously said this would allow the authorities to act against people 'involved in behaviour that puts others at risk of serious injury or death, such as physical aggression, intimidation, or rejecting rescue attempts'.
But on Friday, she appeared to go further by suggesting even getting on an overcrowded boat could result in prosecution.
She said: 'If you've got a boat where we've seen all of those people all climb on board that boat, they are putting everybody else's lives at risk.'
Some 15 children are reported to have died while attempting the crossing in 2024, and Ms O'Neill told PA police tactics were making the situation more dangerous.
During a series of broadcast interviews, Ms Cooper also declined to confirm reports the UK was looking at a 'one in, one out' policy that would see people who had crossed the Channel returned to Europe in exchange for asylum seekers with connections to Britain.
Asked about the policy, she would only tell Sky News that ministers were 'looking at a range of different issues' and 'different ways of doing returns'.
Sir Keir is expected to hold a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, at which efforts to tackle small boat crossings are likely to be high on the agenda.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
14 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Ireland's anti-Israel posturing could cost it dearly
In 1996, the foreign editor of the Irish Times, Paul Gillespie, leafed through Ireland's first military white paper. The document was notably vague on the country's role in global affairs. 'Precisely the absence of strategic interests,' he warned, 'can tempt small states into a moralistic response to international political issues.' How prescient that now seems. After October 7, the Irish government wasted no time clambering onto a soap box to issue proclamations about the most complex urban war in living memory, from the comfort of an island on the edge of Western Europe. Free from threats, and with the RAF guarding its skies, the solutions to a conflict 3,500 miles away seem irritatingly obvious to Dublin. Hamas tunnel networks dwarfing the London Underground, booby-trapped homes, hospitals repurposed as terror bunkers, were mere details repeatedly brushed aside with calls for 'de-escalation' and, more fatuously, a 'two-state solution.' This may have had a cathartic effect – for both politicians and constituents, who are joined by much of the world in their dismay at the destruction in Gaza. But wars are not won with platitudes, nor with hollow gestures dressed up as policy. To the extent this basic truth has dawned on Dublin – and the odd glimmer of self-awareness suggests it might have – it hasn't dampened its appetite to intervene. This week, Ireland raced to become the first European country to ban imports from Israel's occupied territories. 'There isn't another country in the European Union,' boasted the foreign minister, Simon Harris, 'that you can visit today and ask a government minister about their bill to ban trade… because they don't have one.' The braggadocio didn't end there. Ireland stood, in his estimation, as a lone beacon for humanity, 'speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.' All very well. But what exactly does that entail? On Wednesday, the cabinet approved the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill. The Bill is a curious artefact – not least because its acronym, PIGS, invites unfortunate interpretations, particularly given the Irish government's increasing animosity toward Israel. If passed, it will ban imports from the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and Gaza – a wide net. Camp David is firmly in the rear-view mirror The connection between the first three regions and the war in Gaza is tenuous at best. When someone raises the issue of the settlements in this context, it's often a sign they view the current conflict through the lens of an earlier, more sanguine era. Camp David is firmly in the rear-view mirror. Today, the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, loathes Hamas and shares Israel's desire to see them expunged. There remains no party with which to negotiate the stewardship of the territories now commonly referred to as 'Palestinian' – each captured, incidentally, by Israel in wars it did not initiate. Such nuances vanish under the telescopic moralism through which Dublin views the conflict in the Middle East. No one is glued to that telescope more firmly than Simon Harris, the former taoiseach whose tenure saw the re-opening of an embassy in Tehran and the closure of Israel's embassy in Dublin, shortly before its foreign minister branded Harris 'antisemitic.' That accusation may be too simplistic. There's no reason to suspect Mr Harris is prejudiced against Jews, as such, but the Jewish State is another matter. Last year, upon becoming the leader of Fine Gael, Mr Harris disinvited the Israeli ambassador from his first party conference. Her Iranian counterpart, meanwhile, was free to attend. Mr Harris is determined to, as he puts it, 'pull every lever' at his disposal to pressure Israel to end the conflict. Needless to say, depriving the Israeli economy of €200,000 worth of mostly dates and avocados won't exactly blow a hole in its war chest. With the addition of East Jerusalem, the bill would, however, make it illegal for Irish tourists to bring home souvenirs from the Old City. The sight of customs officers quizzing arrivals on where in the Jewish State they bought their Madonna sculpture could prove an unpleasant novelty that the 'land of a thousand welcomes' may come to regret. 'Ireland... is on a hateful, antisemitic path' The repercussions may be further reaching than that. On Wednesday, senator Jim Risch, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, lambasted the decision. 'Ireland, while often a valuable US partner, is on a hateful, antisemitic path that will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering,' he warned. This is not idle talk. More than 30 US states have enacted anti-boycott laws which sanction companies boycotting Israel. Donald Trump has already indicated he would do the same. With the US as its largest trading partner, Ireland has effectively assembled a financial landmine and publicly declared its intention to step on it. One would have thought Mr Harris has more pressing matters to attend to than inflicting economic harm on his countrymen for a gesture that is, by the government's admission, purely 'symbolic.' The US has already threatened to reshore its pharmaceutical industry, on which Ireland's economy depends. Only this week, Japan expressed concerns to the taoiseach over the security of subsea cables off the Irish coast – vital arteries for data and energy between Europe and America – which are increasingly stalked by Russian submarines. Of course, from Dublin's point of view, this is someone else's problem – namely the Anglo-American defence umbrella which has allowed it to get by with negligible defence spending while its European colleagues scrabble for funds. How else would Ireland find the time, and the resources, to arbitrate Israeli settlements? Small countries that believe in their own exceptionalism often develop the peculiar neurosis of needing to, as it were, punch above their weight. With limited material power, this tendency is usually expressed by grandstanding on the international stage. Sweden once styled itself a 'moral superpower,' until its rhetoric collided with reality, helping turn it into the bomb and grenade attack capital of the developed world. Ireland, increasingly, appears determined to trace the same path.
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Huge spike in 'Trumpugees' fleeing America... but they'll quickly regret it
As President Donald Trump 's agenda quickly accelerates to the right, many liberal Americans are looking for an exit strategy. And with its progressive culture and affordability, the Netherlands is looking increasingly attractive for so-called 'Trumpugees'. GTFO Tours, an organization founded by Bethany Quinn and Jana Sanchez to help Americans relocate to the Netherlands says it has seen a 200 percent uptick in inquiries in recent months. 'I think a lot of Americans have sort of been waiting to see how things are going, but they just keep getting worse,' Quinn told Newsweek. The organization pointed to Trump's hardline immigration policies and anti-transgender rights stance as the driving force behind the increase. However, those looking to flee to the European country may be in for a rude awakening upon arrival. The country's new Prime Minister, Dick Schoof, is preparing to usher in a wave of conservativism. Schoof was elected in June as the country has pivoted hard to conservatism. Quinn said that Americans have been bracing for setbacks in social progress since Trump took office in January. She argued that Trump's slew of executive orders on his first day in office, 'reversed 60+ years of progress.' 'A lot of Americans are just looking to have a peaceful life. They just wanna live their lives and they don't want to worry about their safety. They don't wanna worry about their government collapsing,' Quinn continued. The Netherlands may seem like an obvious choice to escape the American grind, but the country's government has had its fair share of turmoil. The government's four-party coalition collapsed in June when Geert Wilders, the leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, withdrew after the other three parties declined to back his immigration plan. Then in July, the Dutch parliament passed a slew of anti-immigration reforms targeted at asylum seekers. The Netherlands is also pumping the brakes on reforms for transgender citizens. A bill introduced in 2021 to make it easier for trans individuals to change their gender registration on official documents was recently withdrawn. 'This cabinet is letting transgender people down in an unprecedented way,' chair Remke Verdegem said of the decision. The wave of conservative policies mirrors the harsh immigration and anti-trans policies of the Trump administration. Grover Wehman-Brown, an American looking to move to the Netherlands, recently told Newsweek, that as a trans individual, they felt increasing fear living in the US. Wehman-Brown said that they experienced a 'constant threat and vigilance' growing up trans in rural Ohio, and was now starting to see those tensions again. 'I had gone to the Netherlands once 15 years ago, and I really liked the short amount of time I spent there, so I was like, "this is really a lovely place where everybody seems busy and purposeful, but cooperating well together and things are running smoothly,'" they added. Wehman-Brown isn't the only one, with a survey by the Immigration Advice Authority citing that one in four Americans were weighing emigration after Trump's 2024 win. Canada has also emerged as a leading destination for fed-up Americans to relocate. However, any refuge could be short lived if the president makes good on his threats to turn the country into America's 51st state. Almost 500 fleeing US citizens have tried to claim asylum in Canada since the billionaire's re-election. But liberals seeking refuge from Trump's America have been dealt a crushing blow after their favorite sanctuary issued a brutal crackdown. The Canadian government is bringing in emergency powers to make it easier to block applications and its border agency says the proposed overhaul is to 'protect the system.' Other popular destinations for American progressives include Portugal and Spain. Interracial lesbian couple Doris Davis and Susie Bartlett living in NYC told Reuters in May they are considering the move. 'We love this country, but we don't love what it has become. When your identity is being attacked, there is a personal sense of... anger (and) frustration,' Davis said.
The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
LGBTQ+ figures criticise supreme court's gender ruling at London Pride
Thousands of people gathered in London for Pride on Saturday, but prominent LGBTQIA+ figures at the event voiced concern that transgender people are being 'villainised more than ever'. Singer and actor Olly Alexander and writer Shon Faye were among those to criticise a UK supreme court ruling on the definition of a woman at London's annual celebration of LGBTQI+ communities. Alexander, the Eurovision 2024 contestant, told the PA news agency: 'Trans people right now, they need our support and love more than ever, they're being villainised, demonised in the press, by a lot of the media, and trans people they're just like us … they're you, they're me. 'They deserve the same respect, the same rights, the same privileges, same opportunities, and that's why Pride is so important this year.' In April the supreme court ruled the words 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex. Before the march, Faye, author of Love in Exile and The Transgender Issue, said 'we've just seen an unprecedented attack on queer rights and trans rights across the world'. She told PA: 'For the trans community in particular here in the UK, we've seen an onslaught of misinformation, attacks in the media, and unfortunately the roll back of human rights in the courts. 'I think (Pride) is more important than ever – I think a lot of trans people have been made to feel afraid in public space and pride this year is about taking back public space, and showing what we're not going to be silenced, and we're not going to be intimidated.' US pop singer Chaka Khan is headlining a concert in Trafalgar Square after the march, at which about 500 organisations filed from Hyde Park Corner, through Piccadilly Circus and on to Whitehall Place. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: 'It was an honour and a privilege to again walk at the front of London's world-famous Pride parade as huge crowds of Londoners and visitors joined together for an incredible show of love, unity and solidarity with our LGBTQI+ communities. 'The fantastic parade and celebrations across central London have shown once again that our capital is a beacon of inclusivity and diversity. 'This year's event was also a defiant reminder that we must keep fighting for equality and take a stand against those seeking to roll back hard-won rights.' A YouGov poll released before the event found 67% of people in the UK believe the country is inclusive to LGBTQ+ people, and 60% would not welcome a shift towards more negative attitudes. Simon Blake, chief executive of charity Stonewall, which commissioned the survey, said, despite the findings, 'we know many LGBTQ+ people do not feel this in their neighbourhoods and workplaces'.
