The UK has negotiated a 40% boost in the number of officers patrolling beaches in northern France in a deal to tackle the migrant crisis – but charities say any attempt to solve the issue that ignores the causes won't work.

British staff will also be in French control rooms for the first time under the plans to clamp down on dangerous small boat crossings, as the number of people making the perilous journey to the UK so far this year topped 40,000.

This compares with 28,526 for all 2021.

The deal is also close to the first anniversary of 27 asylum seekers dying when their dinghy capsized off Calais, on November 24, 2021.

Further measures signed off in Paris include an investment in CCTV and dog detection teams to keep tabs on ports and plans to better equip officers with drones and night vision capabilities.

Meanwhile, Britain and France have agreed to step up co-operation on the issue with European partners, with a meeting of the “Calais Group” of neighbouring countries to be scheduled as soon as possible.

A new task force will also be established to address the “recent rise in Albanians and organised crime groups exploiting illegal migration routes” into Western Europe, 10 Downing street said.

Elsewhere, joint UK-France analysis teams will seek to boost information sharing.

Lastly, the deal pledges investment in French reception and removal centres for migrants who are prevented from making the crossing to the UK.

The agreement was signed by Home Secretary Suella Braverman and French interior minister Gerald Darmanin this morning (Monday).

Rishi Sunak said the move would contribute to his efforts to “grip illegal migration”, and that he was “confident” numbers would come down over time.

Downing Street said the 40% increase in the number of officers patrolling beaches in northern France would “increase early detection”, while the presence of UK staff in French control rooms would boost understanding of the “threat” at hand and help inform deployments.

'This will not be resolved by enforcement alone...'

The boost in port surveillance is designed to crack down on migrants attempting to enter the UK on lorries.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, claimed the deal fails to address the factors behind people choosing to put themselves at risk trying to reach Britain the first place – and will therefore “do little to end the crossings”.

He said: “The Government must take a more comprehensive approach and create an orderly, fair and humane asylum system that recognises that the vast majority of those taking dangerous journey are refugees escaping for their lives."

“It needs to face up to the fact it is a global issue which will not be resolved by enforcement measures alone.”

And Dover and Deal MP Natalie Elphicke said: “The deal falls short of what’s needed. It doesn’t match the scale or urgency of the small boats crisis, or the increased risk of loss of life as winter approaches.

“What’s needed is a step-change in approach with joint border patrols and a Channel-wide joint security zone.

“It’s only when migrants and people smugglers alike know that they can’t succeed in crossing the Channel in a small boat that this crisis will come to an end.”

Since 2018 there has been a trend for asylum seekers to cross the Channel to England in small boats but then number of people arriving all that year was just 299, rising to 1,843 in 2019, 8,466 in 2020 to more than 40,000 in 2022 before the year is even finished.

Last Saturday 972 came in 22 small craft.

Those rescued would initially be landed at the Western Jet Foil in Dover, which was subject to a petrol bomb attack on October 30 this year, re-highlighting the whole issue.

Other asylum seeker have landed by themselves at places such as Shakespeare beach in Dover, Kingsdown near Deal and Dungeness in Romney Marsh.