France MUST stop the boats, stop the excuses and start delivering what British taxpayers are paying for

Towtally wrong IT’S barely four months since the Home Secretary signed a payment-by-results deal with France to stop migrants leaving its beaches for Britain. Amid the fanfare, we were told the first tranche of cash would fund around 1,000 officers to patrol the coast and intercept boats in shallow water. Over 5,000 migrants have managed to cross the Channel and land on our shores since the Home Secretary signed a payment-by-results deal with France Credit: Dan Charity We reveal the extraordinary sight of French officials on a jetski only intercepting a dinghy heading for England because its engine had failed Credit: AFP Yet since then, more than 5,000 migrants have still managed to cross the Channel and land on our shores. So if this really is payment by results, perhaps the French should be paying US. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Paris is keen to boast that its efforts have stopped 46,000 asylum seekers making the perilous journey since 2024. But what British taxpayers are seeing is rather different. We’ve seen French officers tossing life jackets into overcrowded dinghies, giving boats a helping shove and waving them on their way towards Britain. And today we reveal the extraordinary sight of French officials on a jetski only intercepting a dinghy heading for England because its engine had failed. Up to that point officials simply stood and watched as the boat filled up with around 100 migrants. The French appear to be getting money for old tow rope while Britain gets the bill. Most read in The Sun This is a slap in the face to hard- working British taxpayers who have been forced to stump up £1billion to France, only to be told that more undocumented migrants will continue arriving on our shores and moving into communities already under pressure. Enough is enough. Britain needs some straight talking with our French friends. If they want our money, they need to show us real results — not rubber dinghies being rubber-stamped on their way towards Dover. Stop the boats. Stop the excuses. And start delivering what British taxpayers are paying for. Because next time France comes knocking for another cheque, there should be just one answer: Jet offski! Tragic errors TIME and again after tragedy strikes we are assured that “lessons will be learned”. But all too often they never are. Those words of comfort were trotted out earlier this year after it emerged that Southport killer Axel Rudakubana had been referred three times to the Prevent anti-terror programme. But today we learn that teachers and other professionals who flag up their concerns are being met with “closed doors and dead ends”. Four out of five of the 4,715 child referrals last year were quickly brushed off, according to the Children’s Commissioner. Our safeguarding teams have experienced far too many lessons written in blood. How many more tragedies must we witness before they learn? Comment now