France rejects Home Secretary's plan to send UK ships to police Channel as part of new migrants deal

As part of gridlocked negotiations over a new migrant deal between the UK and France, Shabana Mahmood offered to use British Border Force vessels to facilitate returns.

But this was rejected by negotiators as the multi-million-pound deal reached an impasse.

La Canard Enchaine, a French satircial newspaper, has revealed the details.

Previous reports in the Times said that the deal between Britain and France is being held up by Ms Mahmood's insistence that payments to Paris should be dependent on results.

The Home Office says it wants to add “flexibility and innovation” to the agreement, which would see base funding for the patrols to be supplemented by payments based on how many attempted migrant crossings were intercepted in northern France.

Under the terms of the previous deal, Britain paid nearly two-thirds of the £160 million yearly cost to patrol the beaches of northern France.

Ms Mahmood has demanded new terms which would see funds only released after a target interception rate had been reached, The Times said.

According to the report, the French government is said to have agreed in principle with the model but has differences on the targeted rate of crossings prevented.

France currently intercepts around 37 per cent of crossings - down from 50 per cent from when the existing £475 million deal was signed in 2023.

A Home Office spokesperson told the Times: “We do not comment on anonymous briefings.

"We are building flexibility and innovation into any new deal with the French to ensure long-term value for money and a real impact on small boat crossings.”

Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman told the newspaper that the UK and France were “united” in wanting to stop small boat crossings but that the UK wanted to ensure the new deal brought “long-term value for money”.

More than 5,000 people have arrived in the UK aboard small boats since the beginning of 2026.