Sir Keir Starmer’s “reset” with Europe has delivered a change in French tactics on tackling small boats crossing the Channel, Downing Street has said.
Number 10 said reports French police officers had used knives to puncture a boat in waters off the French coast for the first time were a “significant moment” that could have “a major impact” on smuggling gangs.
A spokesman said: “We welcome action from French law enforcement to take action in shallow waters, and what you have seen in recent weeks is a toughening of their approach.”
The Government has repeatedly pushed for French authorities to do more to prevent boats leaving the shore, including changing existing rules to allow police officers to intervene when dinghies are in the water.
Those changes have not yet come into effect, but reports on Friday suggested tougher action was already being taken.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she welcomed the reports, adding she had been “working very closely with the French interior minister” to ensure the rules were changed “as swiftly as possible”.
Downing Street attributed the change in stance from French law enforcement was thanks to the Prime Minister’s “reset” in relations with Europe, as he has looked to heal the wounds caused by the Brexit years.
The spokesman said: “No government has been able to get this level of co-operation with the French. That is important.
“We are looking to see France change its maritime tactics, and that is down to the Prime Minister’s efforts to reset our relationship across Europe.”
But a charity operating in northern France told the PA news agency that French police had already been intervening in crossing attempts in shallow waters despite the new rules not yet being in place.
Kate O’Neill, advocacy coordinator at Project Play, said: “This is not a new tactic … it’s something that has been happening for a long time in Calais and surrounding areas.”
She also warned it was a “dangerous” tactic as children were “often in the middle of the boats”.
Responding to footage of Friday’s incident broadcast by the BBC, Ms O’Neill said: “The events taking place in the BBC coverage are not only upsetting to watch, but show clear evidence of police officers endangering a child.”
She added: “While talks are ongoing to allow the interception of boats in shallow water, it remains illegal at this time under maritime law and violates the obligations of the UK and France under international law – including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“This footage highlights the danger involved in intercepting and slashing boats in the water, and we implore decision makers to consider the potentially fatal consequences of allowing this to take place even more frequently.”
In its manifesto last year, Labour promised to “smash the gangs” smuggling people across the Channel in small boats.
But a year into Sir Keir’s premiership, the number of people making the journey has increased to record levels.
Some 20,600 people have made the journey so far this year, up 52% on the same period in 2024.
Downing Street acknowledged that the numbers “must come down”, but could not guarantee that they would in the next year.
On Friday, Ms Cooper said part of the reason for the increase in crossings was a rise in the number of people being crammed onto each boat.
She suggested that all migrants who arrive on an overcrowded boat where a child has died should face prosecution.
Ms Cooper told the BBC’s Today programme it was “totally appalling” that children were being “crushed to death on these overcrowded boats, and yet the boat still continues to the UK”.
The Government has already included a new offence of “endangering life at sea” in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill currently making its way through Parliament.
Ms Cooper has previously said this would allow the authorities to act against people “involved in behaviour that puts others at risk of serious injury or death, such as physical aggression, intimidation, or rejecting rescue attempts”.
But on Friday, she appeared to go further by suggesting even getting on an overcrowded boat could result in prosecution.
She said: “If you’ve got a boat where we’ve seen all of those people all climb on board that boat, they are putting everybody else’s lives at risk.”
Some 15 children are reported to have died while attempting the crossing in 2024, and Ms O’Neill told PA police tactics were making the situation more dangerous.
During a series of broadcast interviews, Ms Cooper also declined to confirm reports the UK was looking at a “one in, one out” policy that would see people who had crossed the Channel returned to Europe in exchange for asylum seekers with connections to Britain.
Asked about the policy, she would only tell Sky News that ministers were “looking at a range of different issues” and “different ways of doing returns”.
Sir Keir is expected to hold a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, at which efforts to tackle small boat crossings are likely to be high on the agenda.
