Britain has approved plans to turn away boats illegally carrying migrants, deepening a rift with France over how to deal with people risking their lives trying to cross the Channel, with France's interior minister demanding the UK respects maritime law
Hundreds of small boats have attempted the journey from France to England this year, across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The summer surge happens every year, but is now larger than normal as alternative routes have been shut down.
Home Secretary Priti Patel told French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin that stopping people making their way from France on small boats was her "number one priority". "France will not accept any practice that goes against maritime law, nor financial blackmail," the French minister tweeted. Clare Mosely, founder of the Care4Calais charity, which helps migrants, said the plan would put the lives of migrants at risk. "They're not going to want to be sent back. They absolutely could try and jump overboard," she said.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government was exploring a range of safe and legal options to stop the boats. But the issue has become a rallying cry for politicians from Johnson's Conservative Party. Immigration was a central issue in the referendum decision in 2016 to leave the European Union.
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