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BRITAIN-FRANCE-CHANNEL
France, Britain agree action plan on migrant Channel crossings
LONDON, Dec 31, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Britain and France have agreed to boost
bilateral cooperation over a spike in migrants trying to cross the Channel,
the UK’s Home Office said Sunday.
In the coming weeks, the two countries will increase surveillance patrols
and focus on measures to dismantle trafficking gangs and improve awareness
about the dangers of sea crossings in one of the world’s busiest shipping
lanes.
“The UK and France will build on our joint efforts to deter illegal
migration — protecting our borders and human life,” said Britain’s Home
Office minister Sajid Javid, after speaking on the phone with French
counterpart Christophe Castaner.
Attempts to cross the English Channel have been increasing since October,
with authorities on both sides struggling to stop them.
Javid, who has previously said the rise is being treated as a “major
incident”, has faced criticism from the opposition and from within his own
party for responding too slowly.
“More than 200 migrants have arrived on the Kent coast in small craft in
the past two months. The scale of the problem is unprecedented,” Charlie
Elphicke, the MP for Dover on the southeast coast of England, told the Daily
Mail.
A particular increase in arrivals has been recorded over the Christmas
period, with British authorities finding 43 people in English waters on
Christmas Day and December 26.
On Thursday, British border officials found 23 Iranians in three locations
in Kent on England’s southeast coast, hours after French maritime authorities
intercepted 11 migrants in a small boat near Sangatte.
And on Sunday, authorities intercepted six Iranians near Kingsdown beach in
Dover.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0924 hrs