time for our world — the battle for the channel. it isa it is a game of cat and mouse played in a ribbon of sea between britain and france that pits people smugglers against police patrols and governments against each other. we police patrols and governments against each other.— against each other. we have offered to — against each other. we have offered to the _ against each other. we have offered to the french - against each other. we have offered to the french many l offered to the french many times to deploy reddish offices onto the beaches. it is not something they feel that they need. ~ . , ., something they feel that they need. ~ . , . need. when migrants are packed into flimsy. _ need. when migrants are packed into flimsy, inflatable _ need. when migrants are packed into flimsy, inflatable boats - into flimsy, inflatable boats incentive into the sea. record numbers of migrants are now reaching british shores this way, and the smugglers are always one step ahead. so who is winning the battle in the channel? we are out on patrol to ask why two of the world's richest and most powerful countries can't stop migrants crossing 20 miles of sea. it's four o'clock in the morning and wear out on patrol with general travers and his team of gendarme stop he runs a constant patrol of a0 active gendarmes and active reservists paid for by the uk. they patrol almost 90 miles of coastline around calais. this area is known as a goldmine for migrants but tonight the beaches are empty. it's a sign, as the general, that the french patrols are working. the smugglers may be moving away from calais, but the number of migrants reaching britain from northern france has more than doubled this year. geography is on the smugglers' side. how do you police a long, snaking coastline, covered with trees, dunes, and hundreds of bunkers left over from world war ii? this is the kind of terrain that the patrols here have to police every night. the sand is so fine that your boots sink into it, and sometimes there isn't even the moon for light. we checked one popular hiding place but the migrants have gone. they often leave in a hurry. claude �*s comment nappies, even lifejackets. these are the things you leave behind. as dawn approaches, general tavart gets a call. something is happened further down the coast. police have caught a group of migrants in inflatable boat. by the time they reach them, the boat is in the water. this, smugglers tell their clients, is when you are safe from the french police. but tonight, de gendarmes waded into the sea and begin to pull the boat back. it's packed with people. it doesn't take long for one man to realise the game is up and jump out. he helps drag the boat back to shore. everyone on board is likely to have paid between 1000 euros and 3000 euros for the passage. it is late in the season when fares are cheaper and poorer migrants tend to travel. not everyone on board seems to have a life jacket. 0ne kicks at water as he goes. the officer filming says you can hear a baby crying. seconds later, the baby crying. seconds later, the baby appears in a bobble hat to delve the cold of the channel crossing. the boat, thought to have been custom—made, is confiscated. the migrants themselves walk away, back to their camps, to try again. that night, french patrols stopped almost 200 migrants from crossing the channel. but three times as many people did make it to the uk. so what would it take to stop them? we've come to the eurotunnel cited coghill to the eurotunnel cited coghill to find out. to the eurotunnel cited coghill to find out-— to find out. again you can see there is another— to find out. again you can see there is another layer- to find out. again you can see there is another layer of - there is another layer of fencing here, the third skin of preventative fencing.- preventative fencing. calais has been — preventative fencing. calais has been drawing _ preventative fencing. calais has been drawing migrants| preventative fencing. calais i has been drawing migrants for decades. but until 2018, almost none of them tried to cross the channel in small boats. instead they used to jump on trucks bound for the ferry port, or come here to the channel tunnel entrance, to hide on trains bound for the uk. hundreds of migrants used to try to break into the tunnel each day. they don't anymore.— don't anymore. the problem isn't fixed. _ don't anymore. the problem isn't fixed. the _ don't anymore. the problem isn't fixed. the problem - don't anymore. the problem isn't fixed. the problem is l isn't fixed. the problem is contained as far as our terminal is concerned. and that has been done by basically building a perimeterfence around the terminal and adding surveillance cameras, motion detectors, infrared, using drones. we now have over 600 different video surveillance points around the site, and 37km of fencing, high security fencing, around the site, and regular security patrols, and where working in cooperation with the authorities, the police on both sides of the channel. so there is a whole structure, both physical and intelligence based, that operates to protect this small site. it operates to protect this small site. . .,, , site. it costs the uk government - site. it costs the uk government £65 - site. it costs the uk - government £65 million to secure the site. that is about £26 million per square mile. it worked. migrants and smugglers shifted to small boats. by doing the same along 100 miles of coastline is virtually impossible. forested dunes complicate video surveillance, and you can't put a fence around france. david, a migrant himself, has sometimes worked for the people smugglers here. he had hoped to earn a place on one of their boats, but said it never happened. they are greedy, he says, and there are plenty of passengers who will pgy- plenty of passengers who will pay. he has brought me here to show me one of their hiding places. this is where they bring people before they put them in the boat, and old makeshift shelter. above is a field of cows. david is going to show me inside with a door the equipment. it's pretty dark in here. scattered inside is the debris left by previous groups. and hidden in the floor, undera groups. and hidden in the floor, under a rock, groups. and hidden in the floor, undera rock, a dinky, wrapped in plastic, and ready to inflate. smugglers now often sassy but separate to their passengers, to stop them being taken if there is a raid by the police. —— dinghy. david shows me the route down to the beach. the smugglers would get wind of a police patrol up to two hours before it reached them, he says. this year, under growing pressure, the uk announced funding to double the number of patrols on french beaches, and increased surveillance. it spent almost £90 million on security this coastline in the past few years. it is the investment having an impact? with more than a000 migrants reaching british shores last month alone, newspaper headlines are screaming their disapproval. danny mahoney is the man appointed by the government to stop it. we can't build a fence _ government to stop it. we can't build a fence around _ government to stop it. we can't build a fence around the - government to stop it. we can't build a fence around the french| build a fence around the french beaches, but with advanced surveillance technology, french birds can get to the right place at the right time. == birds can get to the right place at the right time. -- dan o'mahoney- — place at the right time. -- dan o'mahoney. it _ place at the right time. -- dan o'mahoney. it doesn't - place at the right time. -- dan o'mahoney. it doesn't work . 0'mahoney. it doesn't work because they patrols going before they get there. isn't it time to be straight with the public and say we can't police the public this way? we public and say we can't police the public this way?— the public this way? we have been clear— the public this way? we have been clear that _ the public this way? we have been clear that the _ the public this way? we have been clear that the ideal - been clear that the ideal outcome is that the migrants and the criminals are stopped before they get anywhere near a beachin before they get anywhere near a beach in france. but that isn't happening frequently enough to break the business model. we are investing in that last stage of the journey in france on the beaches at around the beaches with technology, with french law enforcement officers, and it isn't working as well as we wanted it to. we need to get to the stage where it is more likely than not that if you attempt to cross the channel, you will be stopped. french patrols are now stopping more than half the number of boats from crossing, but the number of attempts as mushroom this year, partly thanks to covid—19 restrictions drying up other transport routes. any migrant camps, people smuggling networks seem to be flourishing, despite 65 criminal convictions related to small boat crossings and a new joint intelligence centre set “p joint intelligence centre set up here last year. hamid — that isn't his real name — is an arrivalfrom isn't his real name — is an arrival from afghanistan. isn't his real name — is an arrivalfrom afghanistan. he arrival from afghanistan. he says arrivalfrom afghanistan. he says he trained with the british special forces. we voiced over his words to protect them. if i stayed, comedy _ protect them. if i stayed, comedy taliban _ protect them. if i stayed, comedy taliban would - protect them. if i stayed, | comedy taliban would kill protect them. if i stayed, - comedy taliban would kill me, and notjust me but my whole family. i went to the embassy and asked them to help me. i said i worked with you. if you works just one day for the army, the taliban will kill you. one day. and i'm national army. i worked you. one day. and i'm national army. iworked many you. one day. and i'm national army. i worked many years with the americans, with the british, but now i'm scared. what did the british embassy said you? what did the british embassy say to you? they said you must wait for an e—mail, i will send you an e—mailand wait for an e—mail, i will send you an e—mail and then you must come to the international continental.— come to the international continental. the big hotel. i waited and _ continental. the big hotel. i waited and he _ continental. the big hotel. i waited and he did _ continental. the big hotel. i waited and he did not - continental. the big hotel. i waited and he did not sendl continental. the big hotel. i i waited and he did not send it. i went to the airport many times that they did not help me. i went back to the embassy but he still didn't help me, then i came by myself to istanbul, then hungary, then paris. i paid 3000 euros from kabul to istanbul.— kabulto istanbul. you paid a smuggler? — kabulto istanbul. you paid a smuggler? yes _ kabulto istanbul. you paid a smuggler? yes i _ kabulto istanbul. you paid a smuggler? yes i paid. - kabulto istanbul. you paid a smuggler? yes i paid. he . kabul to istanbul. you paid a i smuggler? yes i paid. he took my passrnort — smuggler? yes i paid. he took my passrnort and _ smuggler? yes i paid. he took my passport and after - smuggler? yes i paid. he took my passport and after three i my passport and after three days he brought my passport, visa, ticket, everything. mast visa, ticket, everything. most ofthe visa, ticket, everything. most of the peeple _ visa, ticket, everything. most of the peeple i _ visa, ticket, everything. most of the people i have - visa, ticket, everything. most of the people i have met - visa, ticket, everything. mostj of the people i have met here have made contact with the people smuggler within a couple of weeks. some even made it to the uk in that time. hamid had been here for a week when we met. he had just started looking. three days after our interview i get a message on my phone. interview i get a message on my hone. , ., , phone. hi, lucy, last nighti tried by boat, _ phone. hi, lucy, last nighti tried by boat, 75 _ phone. hi, lucy, last nighti tried by boat, 75 people - phone. hi, lucy, last night i. tried by boat, 75 people from dunkirk but before we put the boatin dunkirk but before we put the boat in the see the police came and stopped me.— boat in the see the police came and stopped me. when i speak to him, hamid _ and stopped me. when i speak to him, hamid tells _ and stopped me. when i speak to him, hamid tells me _ and stopped me. when i speak to him, hamid tells me that - and stopped me. when i speak to him, hamid tells me that the - him, hamid tells me that the police told the migrants to go back to their camps and try again. he also tells me smugglers had heard he was talking to the bbc and had threatened him, telling him to stop. general travis said his men don't have the resources to detain dozens of migrants. bigger boats with more passengers are one of the ways smugglers have adapted. and it's creating fresh problems for police. have there been times when you have had to let them go because you... with smugglers now using internal waterways to transport boats to the coast, pressure on all sides is growing. 0ver boats to the coast, pressure on all sides is growing. over the summer, home secretary priti patel threatened to withhold more than £50 million of funding for the mission this year unless france stopped more boats. while on patrol with us, the general issued a threat of his own. shared costs are one thing, shared interests and priorities are another. france received more than 150,000 asylum claims in 2019. the uk, around 35,000. with relations strained after brexit, not viable france go to stop a small of its migrants who want to leave for the uk? what has happened over the last ten years, every single time there is an issue, we say we need five more million for this, 5 million for that, but we're actually really trying to solve the problem, which means actually work together more closely. actually work together more closel . g ., . actually work together more closel ., ., ., ~ ., closely. john paul mulot currently _ closely. john paul mulot currently working - closely. john paul mulot currently working for - closely. john paul mulot - currently working for france's centre—right presidential candidates, is to be the cross—channel envoy for france's northern region in the run—up to brexit —— jean—paul mulot. he spent years studying border arrangements there and talking to those on both sides. if you work together, it has to be really a joint force on the ground where in the army, at the moment, we still have, due to the bilateral treaty, we've got a french colonel running a british regiment and a british commander in chief somewhere working with the french, the french military. why is it that we cannot have that at the border and have a joint border force and thus would actually tackle illegal migration? unlike at ferry ports, migrants found by british patrols in british waters cannot be returned to france. with smugglers selling their clients unrealistic dreams of life in the uk, reception facilities there are now fastly overstretched.- there are now fastly overstretched. on “oint patrols. i overstretched. on “oint patrols. you i overstretched. onjoint patrols, you know, - overstretched. onjoint patrols, you know, we| overstretched. on joint - patrols, you know, we have offered the french many times for us to deploy british officers onto the beaches. it's not something they feel they need or would find helpful but the offer is always there. we would love to do joint patrols at sea as well. the french have at sea as well. the french have a very strong view about sovereignty and therefore it is not an avenue they want to explore at the moment. sovereignty is a loaded issue after brexit. we met france's interior minister last weekend as he visited security forces along the coast. after months of criticism but his patrol vomiting too many migrants across the channel, he told us that france had not yet received a penny of the £5a million promised by priti patel three months ago. —— his patrol for letting too many migrants. they say you are not doing enough or not really trying. . however good the cooperation between forces on the ground, political relations have been strained and notjust by migration. rows over post—brexit fishing licenses and a secret submarine deal in the pacific overstretched diplomatic niceties to breaking point. the general can issue orders to his patrols on the ground but its politicians in paris who issue orders to him. as dawn approaches, we joined the unit on the new patrols along france's final frontier. it's their last chance to intercept migrant boats and take them back to france. but the game of cat and mouse is much riskier than on land and unless a migrant boat is in distress, french forces will escort them into british waters rather than intervene. the uk now says if france won't intercept boats and turn them back, reddish water police might. if it is safe to do so —— british border police. . 0ver over the past two years at least 1a people are known to have died trying to cross this slim patch of water. constrained by humanitarian risks and political alliances, maritime borders like this are difficult to police. smugglers know that as well as governments do. the battle in the channel today is a story of migrants slipping between the sovereignties of two great nations that make a story of david and goliath where vulnerability brings its own protection and sovereignty sets the limits of national power. hello again. most of us had a fine day on friday with plenty of sunshine around. it was certainly a beautiful end to the day in dumfries and galloway with the sun setting over the seas there on the horizon. now, we did briefly see a cool down in weather with this slightly fresher air coming down from the north—west but this weekend, milder air is going to be pushing back in off the atlantic and with that will come rising temperatures. so on friday, actually, briefly, although it was cooler, temperatures got close to normal. 1a is average, actually, for october. it's been a very mild 0ctober so far. but actually, this weekend, across the board we will see those temperatures climbing two or three degrees celsius. and the milder air has actually already started to arrive in the south—west with thickening cloud. an odd spit of rain from that. 12 degrees celsius for the first part of saturday morning. contrast that with the cold air in the north—east, where parts of eastern scotland and north—east england have a frost in the countryside. now, for saturday morning, there will be a lot of cloud around first thing. a few showers for northern areas of scotland again. this cloud pushing eastwards across england could be thick enough to give an odd spit of rain and through the afternoon, there is a threat of more general heavier rain moving into northern ireland but that's going to arrive quite late in the day. it turns milder — 15 or 16 degrees pretty widely — but in scotland, we are still hanging onto that slightly cooler and fresher air. 10 degrees in aberdeen, 12 for glasgow. now, saturday night, we will see a more active weather system move in, bringing rain across northern ireland, some heavy rain in scotland, maybe a few spots for western parts of england and wales, but it is probably that the rain is going to be a little bit lighter and patchier nature here, and that takes us into sunday. well, a lot of cloud to start the day, still thick enough for an odd spit of rain but this is generally pushing eastwards with weather generally trying to improve and brighten as the day goes by. there will be a few sunny spells coming through from time to time. now, temperatures — mild again. we're looking at highs of 17 in london and glasgow and temperatures rising a little through the central belt of scotland — around 1a for glasgow and edinburgh as well. into next week, the low pressure is firmly in charge. it's often going to be pretty windy and we're going to see this very long weather front. this could bring some heavy, prolonged outbreaks of rain. at the moment, it could be affecting the hills in wales, perhaps bringing some localised flooding, but otherwise very mild weather — could see temperatures up to 20 in london on tuesday. this is bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: british police say the murder of a member of parliament has been declared an act of terrorism. sir david amess was stabbed to death while meeting his constituents in the south—east of england. police detained a 25—year—old man on suspicion of murder as politicians, including the uk prime minister, borisjohnson, paid their tributes. the reason i think people are so shocked and saddened is, above all, he was one of the kindest, nicest, most gentle people in politics. the united states offers compensation to relatives of ten people mistakenly killed by a drone strike in afghanistan. the islamic state group has claimed responsibilty for a suicide bomb blast that killed more than a0 people at a mosque in the afghan city of kandahar.