FOREIGN leaders could be barred from visiting Britain if their governments refuse to help tackle illegal migration.
A secret letter from the Foreign Office orders ambassadors to ramp up pressure on countries blocking efforts to stop the boats.
ReutersLeaders of foreign countries could be barred from visiting Britain if their governments refuse to help tackle illegal migration[/caption]
Diplomats have been told to use visas and official visits as leverage.
The internal memo, seen by The Sun, warns: “Some of what we will need to consider will require us to challenge our current approaches.”
Ambassadors have been ordered to “use the levers of our bilateral relationships more creatively to drive cooperation”.
It comes after migrant Channel crossings this year to date surged past the 20,000 marker in record time piling pressure on Labour to get a grip.
On Tuesday, another 440 made the journey, the Home Office said.
Yesterday, amid chaotic scenes in Graveline, France, a desperate mother with her child was seen pleading with traffickers to let her aboard a dinghy.
Last week, security sources warned that Russia was pushing migrants to the UK to overwhelm border defences and sow division.
Vladimir Putin’s tactics included providing fake documents, transport and even military escorts to smuggling gangs.
More than 18,000 have arrived in dinghies so far this year — and opposition MPs said the crossings should now be declared a “national security crisis”.
Senior security sources warned The Sun that foreign powers are backing or exploiting smuggling gangs in a bid to destabilise Britain.
Also last week, Nato recognised illegal migration as a key threat to national security — by ruling that border protection can count towards every member’s defence spending targets for the first time.
Just 299 migrants crossed the Channel in 2018. The highest year for arrivals was 2022 at 45,774.
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