Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to increase the presence of Border Security forces in the English channel to stop immigrants reaching Britain illegally.

Border Force and Immigration Enforcement will always have the resources needed to tackle these illegal and dangerous crossings.

We are using all the skills of Border Force BF, the national Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and French law enforcement to dismantle and arrest the criminal gangs who trade in people smuggling.

Assets on the ground in France have been enhanced and now provide 24/7 cover of the northern beaches.

And we’re also continuing efforts to crack down on the criminal gangs who facilitate the crossings. The NCA and the Home Office introduced a permanent presence France, with operational leads now based in Paris and Calais, to aid intelligence sharing between the two countries and target the criminal networks involved.