Illegal Migration: Small Boat Crossings

Alex Norris Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Border Security and Asylum (Alex Norris)]

I have been clear about this Government’s determination to crack down on small boats. No one should be making dangerous journeys, undermining our border security and putting lives at risk. We must restore order and control to our borders. That means bearing down on these dangerous crossings and bringing people smugglers to justice.

I wish to update the House on our joint work with France on tackling illegal migration. The new multi-step approach, delivered under this Government and endorsed at last summer’s UK-France summit, has already had a significant impact: since the election, joint work with the French has prevented over 42,000 small boat crossing attempts through intervention and dispersal. Joint law enforcement operations have also seen 480 migrant traffickers arrested in 2025 alone.

We must go further. Today the Home Secretary will agree a landmark £662 million multi-year partnership with the French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez. This deal boosts law enforcement boots on the ground, scales up French maritime interventions and increases intelligence sharing to target smuggling networks at every stage of the route. Specifically, this deal includes:

A significant uplift in frontline law enforcement, front-loading deployment in time for the summer. Numbers will increase by 42% to nearly 1,100 law enforcement, intelligence and other frontline officers in northern France to track down illegal migrants and stop them boarding boats.

Five specially trained police units, including a new riot police unit, specially trained in the use of riot and crowd control tactics and equipment will be deployed to deal with violent tactics.

The French will roll out millions of pounds-worth of state-of-the-art drone surveillance, two new helicopters and a new camera system surveillance to track down and intercept people smugglers and illegal migrants.

Expanding maritime capability to intercept taxi boats at sea. In the last two months, the French have stopped six migrant taxi boats, returning all migrants to France and sentencing five smugglers to prison and deportation. We are backing these tactics with a new vessel and an increase of more than 20 additional maritime officers.

Of the total £662 million, the UK has committed to a foundation fund of £501 million, committed over three years, and a new flexible innovation fund of £51 million in year 1 and £110 million in years 2 and 3. If these new tactics are not working, funding will stop after one year and will be put into activity that does. This new deal is underpinned by robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that ensure every intervention is evidence led and responsive to changing circumstances. Every pound spent will target impact, maximising the effectiveness of UK investment to tackle small boat crossings.

Our work with France is complemented by the most far-reaching overhaul of the asylum and migration system in modern times. This programme of reform, outlined in “Restoring order and control: a statement on the Government’s asylum and returns policy (CP 1418)”, is reshaping the UK’s protection and settlement offer to make the system faster, firmer and significantly less open to abuse. This Government are closing every asylum hotel, moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation, including ex-military sites.

We have already removed or deported nearly 60,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals since this Government took office—up 31%, and immigration enforcement action to tackle illegal working has reached the highest levels in British history, with an 83% rise in arrests and a 77% increase in raids.

This historic agreement shows how this Government are working with international allies and taking action to secure our borders and deliver a transformed, results-based partnership with strong safeguards for taxpayers.

[HCWS1540]