The UK and France have agreed a tough new partnership, aimed at smashing Channel people smuggling gangs by disrupting their small boat supply chains.
Home Secretary James Cleverly announced the new customs partnership, after he hosted a meeting of the Calais Group of northern European countries in Brussels on Monday.
The meeting took place on the day the UK recorded its single biggest day of Channel migrant crossings this year.
A total of 385 migrants crossed to UK waters in seven small boats, overtaking the previous one-day record this year, when 358 people made the illegal journey on January 17.
The UK and France have agreed a tough new partnership
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The small boats arriving in the UK are constructed from component parts made in back street factories, in countries including China.
The organised criminal gangs smuggle those parts through multiple other countries into Europe, and eventually onto the beaches of northern France.
Under the customs partnership, countries along the supply chain would share information in a bid to hamper the shipment of the boat parts.
The UK and France have signed up to the agreement initially, with the other Calais Group nations Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands being invited to join next month.
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Home Secretary James Cleverly announced the new customs partnership after he hosted a meeting of the Calais Group of northern European countries in Brussels on Monday
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Speaking after the deal with France was agreed, James Cleverly said that working with the UK’s European neighbours was fundamental to solving the illegal migration crisis.
“Global problems require global solutions” he said.
“And the UK is leading the conversation around the changes needed to crack down on people smugglers and break their supply chains.
“The Calais Group is central to our mission, and we have already made significant progress by reducing small boat crossings by 36 per cent.”
Migrants are helped by RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboat
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The partnership comes just weeks after the UK agreed another deal with the European Union’s Border agency Frontex, aimed at improving intelligence sharing, and collaborating on new technology and operations.
Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “For more than two years, Labour has called on the Conservatives to work with France and other countries to smash the criminal smuggling gangs and to go after their supply chains in order to stop the boats reaching the French coast in the first place.
“But this catch-up announcement from the Home Secretary still goes nowhere near far enough.
“Labour would use the money currently being wasted on the failing Rwanda plan to set up a new elite cross-border police unit, with officers posted directly to Europol to collaborate on joint investigations and to identify and seize boats upstream.”
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
