Legal bid to block UK-backed French migrant detention centre

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Legal bid to block UK-backed French migrant detention centre27 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleJoshua NevettPolitical reporterPA MediaHome Secretary Shabana Mahmood met French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez on the site of a new detention centre in AprilA new French migrant detention centre the UK has offered to help fund is facing a legal challenge that could hamper a £660m deal to tackle illegal crossings of the English Channel. The lawsuit could delay the opening of the centre, which the UK has only agreed to contribute money towards once the facility near Dunkirk has opened. The Home Office said funding for the centre from a £160m pot would be withdrawn if the deal was not delivering proven results within its first year.

The legal challenge risks hindering a key part of the agreement, which Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said would help "restore order and control to our borders" when signing the deal in France last month. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to curb the heightened levels of people attempting to cross the Channel in small boats in recent years and this agreement with France is a significant element of his response. The new detention centre in the Loon-Plage area is under construction and the Home Office said it was expected to be operational by the end of this year.

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While building work can continue during the legal challenge, French legal experts told the the facility's building permit could be revoked if the lawsuit was successful. But delay is more likely as legal challenges often slow down the process of opening migrant detention centres in France, rather than stopping them entirely. "France has committed to building this detention centre," a UK government spokesperson said.

"The UK will only pay when the work is completed. "The French government has not responded to the 's requests for comment. The ongoing costs of building and running the new detention centre have not been revealed by the French government.

But a recent report by the Senate, the upper house of the French Parliament, said a standard 140-bed detention centre costs about €40m (£36m). PA MediaThe number of police officers sent to curb attempted journeys from northern France to the UK is set to riseFrance's Ministry of the Interior was granted a permit to build a detention centre with the capacity to hold 140 people in July last year. Flemish-Artois Coastal Environmental Defense Assembly, an environmental group known as ADELFA, challenged the decision in November last year, arguing the permit should be withdrawn because the facility violated local planning rules.

The challenge was rejected and ADELFA filed an appeal at the Administrative Court of Lille in February this year. The group's lawyers argue the facility is located in an industrial zone where residential accommodation is not allowed under planning rules.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.