BBC Kent, political reporter
BBC News, South East
Mayors in northern France have called on Sir Keir Starmer to visit the region to better understand the impact of small boat crossings in the region.
In a message to the prime minister, the mayor of Ambleteuse, Stéphane Pinto, said co-operation between the two countries was “a must”.
Home Office Minister Dame Angela Eagle said the UK government had “ramped up” its work with French authorities, revealing French police had stopped 28,000 small boat crossings last year.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was in Calais last week to meet politicians and officials but Dame Angela declined to comment on whether the prime minister planned to accept the invitation.
Last year was the deadliest for small boats crossing the English Channel, with an estimated 78 people having died attempting the journey.
Latest boat crossing figures show that 592 migrants in 11 boats made the journey on Sunday – the highest single day total for a day in March on record.
French authorities also rescued 24 other people with one in a critical condition.
Home Office figures show that 36,816 people were detected crossing the Channel in small boats in 2024 – up from 29,437 in 2023, but below a record 45,774 in 2022.
So far this year 2,716 people have made the crossing, marking a 20% increase on the same period in 2024 but lower than the same period in 2023.
Mr Pinto has urged the prime minister to “come and look at our beaches”.
“We must put in place measures to stop bodies on our beaches,” he said.
Phillipe Mignonet, deputy mayor of Calais in charge of security, added it was time for the prime minister “to come over and see this situation himself”.
The BBC has seen a camp in Calais, located in a former wine warehouse with no working toilets or running water, which is home to several hundred migrants.
Zinki, from Sudan, has lived at the camp for two months while he attempts to cross the Channel.
“I’ve faced persecution at home. For us, England works. The language is easier, some people have relatives there,” he said.
He also warned of the dangers of crossing the Channel, stating: “You see your brother die in the sea as you try to cross. Everyone has their own destiny.”
In a nearby camp in Dunkirk, Akan, from Iran, said: “It is very dangerous. Our boat got a hole in it and we were in the water for 30 minutes.
“We had to wait for the big French boat to save us. I thought we would die.”
Jack Valpy/BBCCalais MP Marc De Fleurian said he had ruled out joint patrols on French beaches, stating British police on French soil would make local authorities look “weak”.
“I think British police would be perceived very badly by the French,” he said.
Emily Featherstone, from charity Care4Calais that provide tents and clothing for migrants in northern France, said finding safer routes was essential.
“What we offer in shoes, sleeping bags and activities isn’t that amazing that people would travel here just for that,” she said.
The Home Office said it had launched new specialist police and enforcement plans, including state of the art surveillance technology to disrupt criminal smuggling gangs in northern France.
New measures to tackle people-smuggling gangs have been agreed by the UK and France, with more than £7m of existing funds redirected towards a “stronger” law enforcement response on migrant Channel crossings, a spokesperson said.
When questioned about what deterrent the government had to stop crossings, Dame Angela said “one is they [migrants] may die.”
This article was originally published at www.bbc.com
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