LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Friday that Britain will give France 480 million pounds ($577 million) over three years to invest in police, technology and intelligence to help reduce the number of asylum seekers arriving on its shores in small boats.
Sunak has made stopping boat arrivals one of his five key priorities after the number of migrants arriving on the south coast of England soared to more than 45,000 last year.
“We don’t need to manage this problem, we need to break it,” Sunak said at press conference alongside French President Emmanuel Macron after the two leaders held talks in Paris.
“Today, we have gone further than ever before to put an end to this disgusting trade in human life. Working together, the UK and France will ensure that nobody can exploit our systems with impunity.”
(Reporting by Alistair Smout. Editing by Sarah Young)
