Pritty Patel Although the French authorities warned that this could be life-threatening, they are still preparing to return the boat carrying migrants back to the strait.
A statement from the Ministry of the Interior stated that, according to a two-year plan, border guard staff are being trained in the use of “twisting” tactics at sea.
It will allow British officials to force the boat to return to French waters. It is not clear whether these proposals include bringing migrants back to the French coast.
These proposals have been rejected by the French government. A letter published on Wednesday indicated that Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin was unable to accept them on the grounds that “Protect life at sea Priority is given to nationality, status and immigration policy”.
He warned the UK that adopting this strategy “may have a negative impact on our cooperation.”
The Home Office said it will use this strategy to redirect migrant ships from British waters France.
The weather-dependent training will end this month, using prepared tactics to deploy as soon as feasible and safe.
The border guards have notified the ministers that they can only deploy tactics developed in consultation with maritime experts if they consider it safe.
The Ministry of the Interior said in a statement that Patel has become “the first Secretary of the Interior to establish a legal basis for maritime tactics, working with Acting Attorney General Michael Ellis and expert QC.”
In a letter issued after the breakdown of the bilateral meeting on Wednesday, Damanin made it clear to Patel that these proposals would harm bilateral relations.
“France’s position on maritime intervention remains unchanged. Out of strict compliance with the international maritime law on maritime search and rescue, the protection of life at sea takes precedence over nationality, status and immigration policy. Regarding traffic and conditions across the English Channel, France There is no other way but to intervene most frequently in accordance with the provisions of international law on maritime search and rescue.
“The use of repatriation at sea [the practice of sending back asylum seekers] French territorial waters may have a negative impact on our cooperation,” he wrote.
Conservative MPs called on the Secretary of the Interior to violate international law and send all immigrants who arrived illegally by boat directly back to France.
Damanin’s letter stated that the French authorities had reached an agreement with the United Kingdom, “Double the number of personnel Deployed along the Strait” and was provided to use British aircraft to monitor the coast.
Darmanin also rejected the British proposal to form a single force to prevent human smugglers from using ships.
“According to the team itself, the coordination between our forces on the coastline is good and effective. It does not need to create a new structure through a single joint force command center as you proposed.”
Earlier, the Ministry of the Interior said that 785 people crossed the English Channel in small boats on Monday, down from the record number of 828 daily migrants last month.
This year there were a record 13,500 migrants crossing the strait in small boats, 1,000 of them in the past two days. When 742 people arrived in the UK on Monday, the French prevented 200 people from crossing the border.
French Calais MP Pierre-Henri Dumont said earlier this week that the transfer of ships would flagrantly violate human rights laws and insult the dignity of asylum seekers.
“Not giving children the opportunity to protect is something that modern society should not tolerate. We are talking about human rights and dignity.
“This proposal undermines the right granted to everyone by the United Nations Geneva Convention to apply for asylum in any country.
“Britain left the European Union, but the United Kingdom did not leave the international community and the United Nations,” he said.
