A nervous first step on British soil for a child migrant, offered a helping hand by a Border Force officer at Dover yesterdayFrance has asked the European Union border agency to provide airborne surveillance of the Channel in an effort to reduce migrant crossings. Gérald Darmanin, the interior minister, said he wanted Frontex to extend its mission to the fight against people-smuggling along the Channel coast. He urged Belgium and the Netherlands to co-operate, suggesting that neither country was doing enough at present. The French minister said the deal would finance police reinforcements, but also air surveillance, notably drones, and other equipment such as infrared sights. He said he would double the

Source: The Times July 25, 2021 23:01 UTC