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UK to pay France extra £16m in stopgap deal to patrol Channel beaches
UK NewsPolitics•March 31, 2026 at 7:01 PMNational

UK to pay France extra £16m in stopgap deal to patrol Channel beaches

By Rajeev Syal Home affairs editor•The Guardian - UK News

Two-month arrangement aimed at preventing small-boat crossings comes as existing deal expiresThe UK will pay France an extra £16.2m to keep police patrolling Channel beaches and prevent a surge in small-boat crossings after negotiators failed to agree a permanent deal before a midnight deadline.The stopgap arrangement, which will last for two months, comes after French negotiators refused to agree to UK demands for further interventions and patrols to stop asylum seekers from reaching the UK via the Channel. Continue reading...

Two-month arrangement aimed at preventing small-boat crossings comes as existing deal expires

The UK will pay France an extra £16.2m to keep police patrolling Channel beaches and prevent a surge in small-boat crossings after negotiators failed to agree a permanent deal before a midnight deadline.

The stopgap arrangement, which will last for two months, comes after French negotiators refused to agree to UK demands for further interventions and patrols to stop asylum seekers from reaching the UK via the Channel.

Continue reading...