Shabana Mahmood is preparing to hand France an extra £500million to cope with the small boat crisis as Britain prepares for a surge in Channel crossings while weather conditions improve.
The Home Secretary is said to be seeking more “bang for our buck” from French authorities as she looks to renew a major deal with Paris.
Negotiations between the Entente Cordiale allies over renewing their migration agreement are approaching a critical deadline, with the current arrangement set to lapse next Tuesday.
A Home Office delegation will travel to Paris this week to thrash out terms for extending the deal.
While Ms Mahmood is understood to be ready to reaffirm the deal, sending another half-billion to France, she is seeking a better arrangement.
Government sources indicated that the Home Secretary is pursuing a “more ambitious” arrangement that delivers “more bang for our buck”.
The existing £500million accord, struck by Rishi Sunak in 2023, has faced criticism for failing to stem the flow of migrants, with just 35 per cent of crossing attempts thwarted by French authorities.
Last year saw 41,472 people reach Britain by small boat, representing a 13 per cent increase on the previous year and the second-highest annual figure on record.
Shabana Mahmood is preparing to hand France an extra £500million to cope with the small boat crisis
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French officials intercepted 22,476 migrants, meaning nearly two-thirds successfully completed the journey despite years of British financial support.
Defending the French partnership, the Home Secretary stated: “Without it, the number of crossings would be even higher.”
She added that both nations shared a “collective interest” in achieving maximum impact from any renewed agreement, per The Sun.
It comes as illegal crossings begin to rise as conditions over the channel improve.
The number of crossings is beginning to rise again as weather conditions improve
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Almost 600 migrants have already arrived in the UK over the past five days, beginning with 262 arrivals on Wednesday.
This year’s total has now surpassed 4,000, with a Border Force vessel observed offloading over 50 individuals at Dover harbour on Sunday.
GB News counted 55 people as they disembarked the Volunteer rescue ship and were taken to the Border Force migrant processing centre in Dover.
Keir Starmer has now overseen more small boat arrivals than any other Prime Minister, with more than 66,000 crossing the Channel in his first 19 months in power.
