French police admit orders to let Channel migrants cross
French gendarmes on Hardelot beach south of Boulogne told Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp their orders are to let Channel migration continue once migrants reach the water, warning only that the crossing is dangerous. The admission, filmed as dinghies launched, intensifies scrutiny of Britain’s multi-year enforcement deal with France.
Key Takeaways
- French officers told Philp their order is to “let them go,” advising only that the Channel crossing is dangerous.
- Footage showed migrants boarding dinghies in shallow water near Boulogne as gendarmes stood by.
- The UK’s three-year France deal is worth about £650m–£662m; Philp says beach enforcement is failing.
- The Home Office says UK–French work has stopped over 46,000 attempted crossings since the election.
- Arrivals in 2026 so far are sharply down year on year, but calm seas brought another heavy crossing day.
What did French police say about Channel migration?
According to The Telegraph, Philp confronted officers on Hardelot beach as dozens of migrants climbed into a dinghy, waist-deep in water. Asked why they had not stopped them, one officer replied: “Our order is to let them go. We just have to say to them, ‘Don’t do that. It’s dangerous’.”
When Philp asked whether orders were not to intervene, officers answered: “We have to protect them.” The Spectator reported the same on-camera confession after gendarmes south of Boulogne-sur-Mer watched a launch proceed. France has long argued intervening in shallow water risks migrant lives, though officers have occasionally slashed dinghies when they judged it safe.
Why is the £662m UK–France deal under fire?
In April, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a three-year agreement with France—reported at about £650m to £662m—to boost beach enforcement, drones, helicopters, cameras and specialist officers against people smugglers. Philp, speaking live to LBC while trailing a conspicuous group toward a dinghy staging area, said no French police were present and questioned the value of paying “half a billion pounds.”
He later said gendarmes told him they had orders to take no physical action and only talk to migrants. Philp called non-intervention in knee-deep water “completely ridiculous,” arguing a suspected “taxi boat” rendezvous from the Dieppe area showed the deal is not stopping embarkations. Coverage of funding and enforcement debates continues across Fintech & Crypto Alerts.
Is Labour’s plan to stop the boats working?
Andy Burnham has said overall boat crossings are down significantly year on year and that the plan is working, while acknowledging more remains to do. Telegraph figures put 2026 arrivals so far at 13,376—down 45 per cent on the same point in 2025—though up to 700 people were reported crossing on the day of the beach footage, among the heaviest totals this year if confirmed.
A Home Office statement said UK–French cooperation has stopped over 46,000 attempted crossings since the election, with removals of small-boat migrants at record levels, asylum claims down 12 per cent, and almost 70,000 people removed or deported—up 41 per cent. Philp retorted that rough Channel weather, not policy, has been the main brake, and urged leaving the ECHR so arrivals can be deported within a week.
LBC also noted about 36,000 small-boat arrivals in the year to 31 May 2026, 13 per cent fewer than the prior year, while 13 boats carried 881 migrants between 20 and 26 July. The clash between filmed non-intervention and official stop figures leaves the central political question unresolved: whether paid French enforcement can halt launches once migrants reach the surf.