France accuses Priti Patel of ‘financial blackmail’ over plan to push back migrants mid-Channel

Backlash over UK threat to pull plug on £54m payment to combat Channel crossings, as critics say interceptions at sea will be too dangerous

Migrants are arriving almost daily
More than 14,000 migrants have already reached the UK this year, compared with 8,400 for the whole of 2020 Credit: Getty Images

France has accused Priti Patel of “financial blackmail” and “posturing” amid a growing backlash over her “unworkable” plans to push back migrants mid-Channel.

Gerald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, tweeted that the French government would not accept “any practice contrary to maritime law, nor any financial blackmail” in a reference to the Home Secretary’s threat to pull the plug on a £54 million payment to France to combat migrants.

Ms Patel has secured legal advice for Border Force vessels to start redirecting migrant boats away from UK waters and back towards France, where the French will have to return them to shore.

The tactics are said by sources to be ready to deploy “as soon as practicable and safe” once Border Force has concluded sea training this month. More than 14,000 migrants have already reached the UK this year, compared with 8,400 for the whole of 2020.

But France claims such “pushback” tactics would be a breach of trust, illegal under international maritime law and dangerous to life.

Mr Darmanin wrote: “The friendship between our two countries deserves better than postures which undermine cooperation between our services.” Earlier, he had warned it would have “negative impact” on co-operation.

Would pushback even work?

Mr Darmanin’s statement came as the Border Force union, a former naval chief and senior Tory MP warned that the tactic was so dangerous it would never be deployed.

Lucy Moreton, a professional officer at the Immigration Services Union, said she would be surprised if it was used “even once” because the boats were “vulnerable”.

Tim Loughton, a Tory MP and a member of the Commons home affairs select committee, said it was “not going to happen” as the vessels would capsize and migrants might drown. 

Admiral Chris Parry, a former Nato commander, said there were a variety of tactics that migrants boats could deploy to get round the “pushback” strategy and force UK vessels to rescue them rather than escort them back to France.

The new tactic reflects growing frustration within the Government at the failure of France to prevent more migrants from crossing the Channel, despite receiving millions of pounds in UK support, as well as its refusal to agree to joint operations to return migrants to France.

Britain has even offered use of a plane to help monitor the coast, but France has said it would prefer to deploy the capabilities of the EU border agency, Frontex.

PM pledges to stop ‘vile trade’

The UK’s new hardline approach has been backed by Boris Johnson, who said on Wednesday that the Government was going to “use every possible tactic at our disposal to stop what I think is a vile trade".

Sources say Ms Patel has secured “robust and detailed” legal advice from Michael Ellis, the Attorney General, and expert QCs that the tactics are lawful and in accordance with domestic and international law. The legal window allowing them is said to be “limited”.

Border Force has told ministers it would only be able to deploy “turnarounds” when they deem them safe to do so. They are likely to be restricted to sturdier, bigger migrant boats and only used in “very limited circumstances”. “It is a deterrent, not a silver bullet,” said a source.

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However, Ms Moreton said: “In practical terms, if this happens even once, I would be surprised. There are understandably a lot of constraints around it and you cannot do this with a vessel that is in any way vulnerable, and more importantly you need the consent of the French to do it.

“Because when you turn the vessel back toward France, when it is across the median line, it has to be intercepted and rescued by the French and it appears the French will simply not engage with this, in which case it’s – if you excuse the pun – dead in the water.”

Mr Loughton, a former minister and MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, said he supported the principle but it was “not going to happen”.

He said: “It sounds good. But I'm afraid in practice it's just not going to happen. These are flimsy boats coming over. Even those that are tougher are completely weighed down.

“Any boat coming up alongside at speed would capsize most of these boats anyway and then we're looking at people getting into trouble in the water and drowning… and then we'll get blamed for that. It sounds good pushing them back but it's not going to work in practice.”

On Wednesday, UK authorities rescued or intercepted 301 people, with the French reporting they had stopped 302 people reaching Britain, the Home Office said. 

The previous day, 456 were rescued by Britain, and 326 by France. It followed 785 migrants on Monday, the second highest daily total this year after 828 earlier in the summer.

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