British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed an agreement in Dunkirk on Thursday that commits the UK to fund 200 French officers to detain and deport asylum seekers from war-torn countries before they attempt Channel crossings.
The deal, part of a £662 million package over three years, marks the first time France has agreed to target people heading to the UK in compact boats. A latest 140-capacity removal centre in Dunkirk, first announced in 2023, will be completed by the end of the year and staffed by the UK-funded officers.
Those detained will be people from Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Syria, Vietnam and Yemen – the top 10 nationalities who crossed the Channel by small boat last year, according to the Home Office. They would be deported to their home countries or to other EU countries they had passed through if their home nations were deemed unsafe.
Officials claim hundreds, possibly thousands, could be detained annually under the targeting scheme. However, EU countries including France have previously struggled to deport people to neighbouring countries under the Dublin agreement, raising questions about the feasibility of returns.
Human rights groups have condemned the plan. Jo Cobley, chief executive of Safe Passage International, called it “disgraceful and unlawful” to deport people to active war zones or places where they face persecution, arguing that without safe and legal routes, people will continue to cross the Channel regardless of detention threats.
Mahmood defended the approach in Dunkirk, stating that if migrants’ home countries are unsafe, they can be returned to safe EU nations they transited through under the EU’s new pact on migration and asylum. She said the deal gives authorities flexibility to adapt as people smugglers change tactics.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the agreement empowers French security forces to continue their work combating perilous crossings and strengthening coastal safety. At the signing, Mahmood called it a “landmark agreement” that would “really arm us to head after the people smugglers”.
The Conservatives accused the government of handing over “half a billion pounds of our money with no conditions at all”, while Reform UK claimed France was being paid more money “for a system that has already failed”. The UK government has not confirmed what specific targets French authorities must meet to retain the funding.
Why is the UK funding French officers instead of British ones?
The UK is funding French officers to operate on French soil in Dunkirk, where migrants are intercepted before attempting Channel crossings, under a bilateral agreement that allows joint enforcement actions on French territory.
What happens if someone’s home country is considered unsafe for return?
If a person’s home country is ruled unsafe, such as Afghanistan or Sudan, they would be deported to a safe EU country they had previously passed through and been processed in, according to Home Office sources cited in the agreement.