UK announces joint effort with EU to crack down on illegal migration

The UK has concluded negotiations with the European Union as both parties pledge to crack down on illegal immigration.

Brussels and London will release details of the new cooperation agreement in the coming days.

A Downing Street readout said: “The leaders welcomed the successful conclusion of negotiations on a new working arrangement between UK agencies and Frontex, which should be formalised in the coming days, as part of wider cooperation between the UK and EU on tackling illegal migration.”

A separate statement from the European Commission reads almost exactly the same but goes further by pledging a “crackdown”.

Greater cooperation on irregular migration has been in the works for some time.

However, initial negotiations fell through as the UK expressed its desire for a returns agreement.

Rishi Sunak called for more cross-Channel coordination to deal with the migrant crisis in October.

The Prime Minister also met with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni during the visit and co-wrote an article calling for more action.

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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly seeking a returns agreement with the EU but Conservative figures warn the UK would be forced to take more than 100,000 illegal migrants from the bloc every year.

The migrant crisis continues to grip both mainland Europe and the UK.

So far this year around 1,400 migrants have made the journey by small boat to the UK across the English Channel.

The latest figures constitute a 13 per cent increase compared with the same month last year.

A total of 29,437 people arrived on British shores in small boats in 2023.

That was a big drop from the 2022 total of 45,755, which was the highest number since figures began to be collected in 2018.

The European Council tallied irregular arrivals as steadily increasing since 2020, with 274,404 made last year.

Europe’s figure is well below the number recorded in 2015 but remains the highest at its highest point since 2017.