FRENCH cops have secretly been using jet skis to lay nets in the sea to stop migrant boats sailing to Britain.
The new tactic involves netting that jams a dinghy’s propeller and brings it to a safe stop in shallow water.
GettyThe number of people who have arrived in the UK by small boat this year has passed 20,000[/caption]
It was part of a trial which also saw police wade into the water to puncture a migrant boat with a knife on Friday.
The moves come ahead of a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron this week.
He will announce strategies to allow cops to enter shallow water to stop the boats at a summit with Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday.
Measures will be put into practice within weeks and eventually become a daily activity for officers.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Over the last few months, we have been working together on new ways to crackdown on the criminal gang operations, with the French now bringing in important new tactics to stop boats that are in the water.
“We need to stop at nothing to boost our border security.”
The Tories had first planned to use jet skis in 2021 but the idea to intercept boats in British waters and spin them back to France was considered too dangerous.
Whackier ideas discussed in previous years include wave machines, a floating “wall” in the Channel and moving migrants to decommissioned oil platforms.
Ms Cooper is also looking at cracking down on illegal work after the French blamed the UK’s black market economy as a pull on migrants.
Pressure is on after the number of people who have arrived in the UK by small boat this year passed 20,000 — despite £500million handed to France to curb crossings.
And despite the tougher methods by the French this week boats have continued to set sail for Dover.
A deal to return migrants to France in a “one in, one out” scheme is still being worked out days before Mr Macron lands in the UK.
It could see Channel migrants sent back to France and swapped for asylum seekers with family connections in the UK.
French cops have secretly been using jet skis to lay nets in the sea to stop migrant boats sailing to BritainAFP Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
