Britain is paying France for 'absolutely nothing', Robert Jenrick tells GB News
Aug 14, 2025
Robert Jenrick has launched a blistering attack on the French authorities, accusing them of using Britain as a "dumping ground for illegal migrants".Speaking to GB News, the Shadow Justice Secretary declared the Labour Government is paying the French "for absolutely nothing".FULL STORY HERE.
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0:00
Firstly, what did you expect to see when you went out there to Calais
0:05
Well, I've been following this issue for a long time, but even I was shocked by what I saw
0:13
in particular by the fact that the French, to whom we're giving £800 million a year
0:18
and just giving a state visit to their president, are basically aiding and abetting the migrants
0:24
I literally saw migrants walking down a highway holding life jackets. No one did anything. I saw them getting on a public bus. No one stops them
0:35
I mean, imagine if you're getting on the bus and 40 or 50 migrants holding life jackets got on
0:42
not exactly subtle. I even saw police cars go past and look at them and didn't do anything
0:47
And then in the morning at daybreak at Dunkirk Beach, when I knew they were very likely heading
0:54
to that beach or another one. I phoned the police in France because I thought, I've got to do
0:59
something. I've got to stop these people getting into our country. And the French did absolutely
1:04
nothing. The operator on the phone said, oh, that's terribly interesting. I'll pass it on
1:10
But to be honest, the police probably aren't going to come. That is what we're getting in return
1:14
for the millions of pounds, the effort that Keir Starmer is supposedly doing to smash the gangs
1:20
I think it's a total disgrace. And we should not be relying on the kindness of strangers
1:24
on another country to secure our borders We need our own deterrent We need to be detaining and deporting each and every one of these people Well you try and find out where this money is going
1:36
and you can't really find out where this money is going, where it's being spent, who it's being spent by, and for what outcome
1:44
That information just isn't there for the public to see, Robert. Well, I went to a migrant camp, probably the largest and most dangerous one
1:52
which Patrick Christie has reported for GB News from. No police presence whatsoever
1:57
It's a totally lawless space. Stark, it's dangerous, people are getting stabbed
2:01
people are getting shot there. No French police whatsoever. I follow the migrants down the road onto a bus
2:08
walking through the centre of Dunkirk, a busy town. No police presence
2:13
I spent hours on the beach at Dunkirk and, in fact, the night before at Gravelines
2:18
I didn't see a single police officer the whole time. We're paying for nothing
2:22
We're paying for absolutely nothing. The worst thing of all, though, is the French obviously know what's going on
2:29
Of course they know that the migrants are there with their life jackets
2:33
The migrants that I tracked for hours, they spent the night in a sort of hiding place in some woods by a cemetery close to the beach
2:42
After I'd given up trying to get the police to come to the beach
2:46
I went back to the hiding place about an hour after the migrants had left
2:50
And already the bin men from Dunkirk were there clearing up the detritus that the migrants had left It was just another day to them They obviously go there every morning knowing exactly that the migrants were there clearing up the detritus that the migrants had left It was just another day to them They obviously go there every morning knowing exactly that the migrants will have been hidden there
3:05
expecting that, clear up the mess. They can clear up the mess, but they can't clear up the migrants
3:09
No arrests, but clean streets. Perhaps we should charge the bin men with arresting the migrants
3:18
But this does perhaps get to a big problem of this. There are miles and miles and miles of coastline
3:24
Is it ever going to be reasonable to say that these people
3:28
can be stopped on the beaches by the French? Should we just give up sending our money their way for these patrols
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just given the stretch of that coastline? Even if, in the best will in the world
3:42
if the French were really keen to stop every single person there, they just wouldn't have the capacity
3:47
No, I disagree, Tom. The French could stop this tomorrow if they wanted to
3:51
And I think my video has proven that. I went to a camp and I saw a gang marshalling migrants out and down the road
3:59
I followed them. I followed them into Dunkirk. I saw them in their hiding hole
4:03
It is not that difficult to understand this problem. At the end of the day, you've got jumped up gangsters in a camp and you've got rubber dinghies
4:13
This is not such a uniquely difficult and challenging issue. But the point I think you do, the point you are right on, is that we should not be relying on the French to fix this
4:22
The French are never going to fix this The French are using the UK as a dumping ground for illegal migrants that they don want We have to step up and take responsibility And the tragedy of the present
4:33
situation is that we know how to fix this. The answer has been clear to us for a long time. It's
4:39
ultimately why I resigned from the cabinet. Change your laws, get out of these outdated
4:44
international accords like the ECHR and deport each and every one of these migrants. If we did that
4:51
This whole racket, the camps, the crime, the hotels, the billions of pounds, it could all be ended
4:57
But Robert, why didn't the previous government, the Conservatives, nip this in the bud when they had the chance to
5:03
Talking now about removing ourselves from various conventions and the ECHR, etc, etc
5:07
A lot of people will agree with you, of course. But the charge is always there. Why wasn't this done previously
5:14
Well, I share that frustration. That's why I chose to leave the last government
5:17
Because I could see the answer to the problem. But why couldn't you get that across, Robert
5:22
There must have been many a person in the Conservative Party. There were many, many people who shared my view
5:27
In fact, when I went onto the back benches, there were 60 Conservative MPs who supported me
5:31
when I campaigned to strengthen, not scrap, the Rwanda policy. But look, we are where we are
5:36
What we've got to do now is try to fix this. In fact, it's beyond party politics
5:40
The impact of this on our country is immense. Look at the hotels, the harm that's causing
5:46
I'm worried as a father about the violence, particularly the sexual crimes that are being committed by some illegal migrants
5:53
What we've got to do now is fix this problem once and for all. I think we know how to do that
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