French Authorities Halted Channel Small Boats 10 Times Since Spring

The disclosure comes after Conservative and Reform claims that French police were refusing to intervene in crossings. Despite those claims, Maritime Prefect officers were using "intervention tactics" to board or control vessels at sea and take asylum seekers back to France. The disclosure comes as political parties are once again attempting to seize the initiative over small boats over the summer.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, last week confronted French police on a beach near Boulogne and uploaded footage to X of an officer saying: Our order is to let them go. We just have to say to them, 'Don't do that. It's dangerous.