FRENCH authorities have been accused of making a mockery of the “one-in, one-out” migrant deal after letting an unsafe dinghy reach UK waters.
A search-and-rescue ship was deployed near Calais on Thursday after a small boat was detected to be in distress.
French rescuers recovered 15 migrants but let the rest carry on toward Britain.
The RNLI picked up the others.
It came two days after the new migrant swaps deal with Paris began.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “The French should not be allowing a badly damaged boat to continue on its journey – this is incredibly dangerous.
“It is incredibly irresponsible for French authorities to allow these dangerous boats to cross.
“This makes a mockery of the migrant deal announced last week.
“If the French were serious about ending this dangerous and illegal route they would be stopping these boats at sea.”
France’s maritime prefect of the Channel insists their authorities cannot force migrants to be rescued due to the risk of them falling overboard if their dinghy capsizes.
Chris Philp added: “Labour’s deal with France will allow 94 per cent of illegal arrivals to stay in the UK. Earlier this week, I went to the Channel to see for myself if the deal was deterring any crossings. It wasn’t.
“We found two boats full of illegal immigrants in half an hour and they were escorted to UK waters by the French.”
1
