London: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to strengthen security cooperation, with talks focusing on Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East, defense, and illegal Channel crossings. France plans to deploy an additional 45 police officers to its western coastline to disrupt people-smuggling networks and prevent boats from being launched.
According to Qatar News Agency, Burnham stated that while cooperation has made progress, smugglers are constantly changing their tactics. The UK government reported that joint efforts have successfully prevented more than 68,000 attempted Channel crossings, highlighting the ongoing challenge posed by people-smuggling operations in the region.