France 'doesn't want to stop small boat crisis'

FRANCE is failing to stop the small boats crisis in the Channel because it is not "serious" about halting the journeys, a former Australian prime minister famed for his tough stance on illegal immigration has said.

- By David Williamson

Tony Abbott, who made stopping illegal arrivals a personal mission, argued Britain must turn back boats in the Channel in order to defeat the people smugglers.

"Look, the French won't like it but, frankly, if the French were serious there would be no boats crossing the English Channel," he said.

"They could stop it if they wanted to but they are not doing it." He implemented Operation Sovereign Borders on his first day in office in 2013, putting the military in charge of stopping people arriving in Australia illegally by boat.

The boats were towed back to Indonesia or asylum seekers were sent back in lifeboats or inflatable dinghies.