France belatedly agrees to intercept 'taxi boats' at sea

France has finally agreed to draw up a plan to stop small boats at sea by the summer, after police were criticised for standing by as people smugglers picked up migrants.

- KATE DEVLIN

The French government is understood to be enlarging its navy with new patrol boats that could intercept "taxi boats" before they leave for the UK. The strategy is designed to be ready before French president Emmanuel Macron travels to London for a Franco-British summit on 8 July.

The plan comes after a furious row erupted over the lack of action as more than 1,000 people crossed the English Channel on Saturday. French police officers were seen watching as migrants, including children, boarded at a beach in Gravelines, between Calais and Dunkirk, while authorities were then pictured escorting the boats.