Under fire France ADMITS it must do more to stop small boats & could even take illegal migrants BACK from UK

FRANCE has finally admitted that it needs to start intercepting more small boats — and has even raised the possibility of taking back illegal migrants from Britain. 

President Emmanuel Macron’s border chief said returning Channel migrants would send a clear message that they should not bother risking their lives making the dangerous crossing. 

The French have come under fire for failing to stop the flow, despite being handed £500million by UK taxpayers, with their navy escorting boats across busy shipping lanes until they are picked up by our Border Force. 

When challenged by The Sun, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau accepted: “We have to deal with the crossings.

“Up until now, we considered it to be a French doctrine that we would save people on the seas — but that we would take no risk whatsoever.

“So we would accompany the people on the boats. 

“I’ve seen a number of videos where the taxi boats come close to the coast to pick up the migrants in water that’s not very deep, and I think that our gendarmes cannot intervene.

“We need to change that doctrine of intervention.” 

Of the 150,000 migrants who have crossed since 2018, just three per cent have been deported to their home country.

But a returns deal could be the deterrent that breaks the smugglers’ business model. 

Mr Retailleau said: “I do think that there must be an agreement that we can come to, a bilateral agreement between governments. 

“Because we see many of those who land on British soil don’t come back. Even when one has crossed the Channel, if one is sent back that will send a clear message.” 

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The minister said other European countries needed to pull their weight in closing smuggling routes, too — and he singled out Belgium and Germany. 

Speaking at the Policy Exchange think tank in London, he insisted trying to smash the smuggling gangs alone was not sufficient. He said: “As we dismantle one, another one crops up.” 

Mr Retailleau insisted Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also needed to crack down on illegal working which helps to attract Channel migrants to the UK. 

Meanwhile Bas Javid, the Home Office’s head of immigration enforcement, vowed to ramp up deportations of such workers. 

He told The Sun that the biggest deterrent was clear, saying: “If you’re working illegally, we’ll catch you and we will remove you from the UK and the employer will get stung with a fine of up to £60,000.” 

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He believes the number of illegal migrants in the UK are in the hundreds of thousands.

And he went on: “I’ve personally gone out on visits to car washes, nail bars, barber shops, restaurants and shops such as off-licences. 

“And in all of them I’ve seen extremely poor working conditions. 

“So there’s a humanity factor here as well about people’s livelihood and safety.” 

Mr Javid also attacked abuses of human rights laws that helped foreign criminals avoid being booted out for bizarre reasons. 

His boss, Ms Cooper, has said she is reviewing the UK’s application of the rules, and Mr Javid said: “I would absolutely welcome that.” 

He was backed by Mr Retailleau, who agreed: “The rhetoric of individual rights is often too powerful compared to the collective interests.” 

[boxout headline=”CHANNEL TECH FAIL” intro=”A SYSTEM which spots migrant boats in the Channel as part of a £1.6billion scheme cannot cope with the numbers coming across, The Sun can reveal. “][/boxout]