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TIMES INVESTIGATION | ANALYSIS

People smuggling: Tensions over the Channel

The Times

When Priti Patel went to Calais in July to discuss the growing problem of migrant boats heading across the Channel, her French counterpart announced a return visit to London within weeks for further talks on reducing the flow.

Gérald Darmanin, the French interior minister, has yet to go to London, and the delay is revealing.

Despite claims by Dan O’Mahoney, Britain’s Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, to be working with the French to stop the crossings, co-operation at ministerial level is limited.

Although both countries have a shared interest in stopping illegal immigration, their relations are fraught with mutual incomprehension over the issue.

Ms Patel, for instance, has criticised the French authorities for shepherding migrant boats into British waters rather than intercepting and returning them