UK to pay for French officers to deport asylum seekers from war-torn countries

<p>Removal site in Dunkirk will hold people of 10 nationalities trying to reach UK in small boats under new £660m deal with French</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/apr/23/keir-starmer-peter-mandelson-vetting-cat-little-olly-robbins-vet-uk-politics-latest-news-updates">UK politics live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>The UK will pay for 200 French officers to detain and deport people seeking asylum from some of the world’s most oppressive and war-ravaged regimes under a new UK-France deal to try to reduce Channel crossings.</p><p>In what is being billed as the first time the French government has agreed to target those heading to the UK in small boats, a removal site in Dunkirk will be used to hold people from 10 countries: Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Syria, Vietnam and Yemen. The Home Office said they were the top 10 nationalities who crossed the Channel by small boat last year.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/23/uk-to-pay-for-french-officers-to-deport-asylum-seekers-from-war-torn-countries">Continue reading...</a>