The UK and France have agreed a new multi-million-pound deal to curb the number of migrants crossing the Channel. 

It will see British immigration offices stationed in control rooms for the first time, as well as a 40% boost in the number of officers patrolling beaches in northern France.

Drones, night vision equipment and more CCTV and sniffer dogs were among measures signed off on Monday morning by Home Secretary Suella Braverman and French interior minister Gerald Darmanin.

More than 40,000 people have made the journey this year. 

However, critics have claimed that similar deals have "failed to significantly improve the situation" in the past and the SNP called for a "root and branch reform" of the whole UK asylum seekers. 

The agreement will see costs rise to 72 million euros (£63 million) a year, Rishi Sunak told reporters travelling with him to Indonesia for the G20 summit.  

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

However, campaigners emphasises the deal will "do little to end the crossings" as it fails to address the root issues pushing people to put themselves at risk to try and reach Britain. 

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Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, called for a focus on creating more “safe routes” and working with the EU and other countries to “share responsibility” for the “global challenge”, while urging the Government to do “far more” to reduce the backlogs in the current asylum system.

“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,” he said.

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

SNP’s immigration spokesperson, Anne McLauglin MP, welcomed the cooperation between the two countries but warned that "no deal will fix the Tories disastrous asylum system". 

She added: "We have seen deals like this before and they have failed to significantly improve the situation. The UK government must instead focus on creating more safe and legal routes, which we know work, and address the backlog of asylum decisions.

“The whole UK asylum system needs root and branch reform to make it humane and fit for purpose, including giving asylum seekers the right to work, creating many more safe and legal routes, and providing decent accommodation and support systems for those seeking safety upon arrival." 

The MP urged for the funds being used to amp up French border control to go towards hiring and training more Home Office staff to get through a backlog of asylum applications. 

“But more immediately, the 10,000 asylum seekers who have been waiting for a decision for three years or more deserve an answer," Ms McLaughlin said. "These people should have already had their decision by now and could be working, paying tax and contributing to our society."

The Scottish Greens echoed those concerns and urged for the focus to be on the reason people have been forced to "uproot their lives".

Maggie Chapman MSP said: "People do not risk their lives and those of loved ones on a deadly crossing by choice. They are driven to it out of desperation.

“Rather than a constant and failed fixation on how to reduce numbers, the focus should be on working with others to address the reasons why so many people are forced to uproot their lives. That means providing solidarity, support and safe routes instead of increasingly militarised borders and seas."

Ms Chapman condemned the UK government and added: “Successive UK governments, both Tory and Labour, have inflicted a hostile environment and a series of racist and reactionary policies in order to win headlines. 

“Whether it is the dawn raids and detention in prison-like conditions, or a Home Secretary who has said she fantasises about racist deportation flights to Rwanda, the way that they have treated other human beings is appalling.

“An independent Scotland would pursue a humane and empathetic migration policy rather than one that is based on punishing and scapegoating people who are fleeing horrific circumstances.”

The deal has also seen the two countries pledge to share more intelligence and for investment in French reception and removal centres for migrants prevented from crossing to the UK.

Downing Street said the increase in beach patrols 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.

Speaking to Sky News, Suella Braverman said the deal was "not a silver bullet".

She added: "I'm very encouraged. I'm very encouraged by the agreement that we've just signed today. 

"I pay tribute to all of the teams in France and the United Kingdom who've been working to secure this agreement. 

"I think there are some significant gains for both the French and the UK authorities."