Sir Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure to halt funding for French Channel patrols after new data revealed that around two-thirds of small boat migrants successfully reach Britain.
The Prime Minister is expected to approve fresh payments to Paris when the current agreement expires next month, with talks already underway over a new multi-year deal.
But Conservative and Reform UK figures are demanding that no further cash be handed over without clear evidence of tougher action from France.
More than 41,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats last year – a 13 per cent increase and the second-highest annual total on record.
French authorities stopped 22,476 attempted crossings, equating to a prevention rate of just 35 per cent, despite Britain contributing more than £700million towards patrols, boat destruction, drone surveillance and camp policing.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp delivered a scathing verdict on French efforts, branding the situation “pathetic”.
“Last summer, I witnessed French police ushering illegal immigrants on to a bus headed towards the departure points,” he told The Sun.
Mr Philp said Britain should refuse to hand over any further payments unless Paris shows it is serious about stopping the crossings.
New data has revealed that around two-thirds of small boat migrants successfully reach Britain
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GETTY
He said: “We should not pay any more unless they start to take effective action.
“They should intercept all the boats near the French shore, which can easily and safely be done.”
Reform UK’s Home Affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf also criticised the current arrangement.
“Tory and Labour governments have handed France £700million of taxpayer money to stop the boats full of illegals,” he said.
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Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded French efforts to halt crossings as ‘pathetic’
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PA“Yet they are coming in record numbers. Almost 200,000 in eight years. The French are laughing at us.”
The Prime Minister’s separate “one-in, one-out” deal has also come under fireonly a few hundred migrants sent back since it was introduced in September.
However, the Home Office has defended the partnership, insisting cooperation with France is delivering results.
“Joint operations have helped block 40,000 crossings under this Government,” a spokesman said.
Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘one-in, one-out’ deal has also come under fire
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GETTYJust weeks ago, France’s most senior human rights official warned police to stop using rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades against migrants attempting to board small boats bound for Britain.
Claire Hédon, France’s so-called “defender of rights” and the Government’s principal adviser on human rights matters, made the intervention in an 18-page report leaked to Le Monde.
The document, dated December 17, 2025, argued that the use of such force has contributed to deaths and serious injuries among migrants attempting to cross the Channel.
“The objective of preventing departures is understandable given the danger of the crossing, and law enforcement plays a protective role, but this cannot be done at any cost,” Ms Hédon wrote.