Overview
- Border Force intercepted small boats on Saturday and brought people to Dover in the first arrivals since the new Anglo-French pact.
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a three-year £662 million agreement with France on Thursday to expand beach policing and maritime enforcement.
- The plan commits £501 million upfront for five police units on French beaches, with a further £160 million paid only if new tactics cut crossings.
- Reporters observed smugglers launching from beaches near Hardelot south of Boulogne and from Belgium in recent days to evade patrols, which lengthens the journey and raises risk.
- Government figures show more than 6,000 arrivals so far this year, a 36% drop from the same point last year, while ministers have not set public targets to judge the deal’s success.