Is Braverman’s French Channel migrant deal a sign of progress?

Is the deal struck between the UK and French governments on policing Channel crossings really going to make a difference? MPs don’t seem to think so, with Suella Braverman getting a rather chilly reception from her own side in the Commons this afternoon. The Home Secretary signed the deal this morning, and returned to tell Home Office Questions that this was a ‘step change and a step forward’. But she also admitted, after criticism from Tory MPs, that it was important not to ‘overplay’ what it meant. 

Braverman was criticised by Dover MP Natalie Elphicke, who said: ‘Regrettably the modest French agreement falls short of what is needed to address the scale, the impact and urgency of the crossings. We don’t need more observation: we need action taken on the French side. For even today, as the ink was drying on the new deal, small boats crept through the sea mist and one even landed on a beach in a residential coastal village in my constituency.