According to a report in the French press today, the border between France and the United Kingdom is ‘at risk of being left unprotected’. The cynic might say that’s been the case for years, given the vast numbers of migrants who have crossed the Channel in small boats since 2018. Over 41,000 made the journey in 2025 – the second highest number on record – and more than 4,400 migrants have landed in England in the first three months of this year.

That figure is likely to increase significantly now that spring has arrived. The days are longer and, according to the BBC weather centre, the outlook for April is for ‘drier-than-normal weather’. The peak season for small boat crossings is normally early May to late September, when the weather in the Channel is at its most benign. But the well-organised people smugglers are always ready to capitalise on unseasonably clement conditions.

In March 2023, Britain and France signed a deal in which Paris received £468 million in return for promising to stop the boats. It hasn’t quite gone according to........

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