The French Government has splurged British cash on a horse brigade, vacuum cleaners, microwaves and mobile phone chargers, shocking figures have revealed.
Some £40 million given to Paris to end the Channel migrant crisis has been spent on new equipment.
But spending records on Monday revealed how some of the money is being wasted on everyday objects.
Analysis has revealed some £130,383 has been spent on a horse brigade in the baie de Somme, buying riding boots, helmets and care for the horses.
And the French bought mobile phone adapters, microwaves and hoovers using the money.
The majority of the aid has been spent on helicopters, cars, motorbikes, e-scooters and quad bikes, binoculars, drones, dash cams, hunting cameras, endoscopes and computer software in a bid to reduce crossings.
Alp Mehmet, chair of Migration Watch, told the Daily Express: “It seems the French really have been taking us for a ride, as many suspected was the case.
“It’s time France got serious about tackling illegal boat crossings from her shores and used our hard-earned money for what it was intended.”
Some 615 migrants crossed the English Channel on 12 boats on Sunday – the first crossings this month.
A total of 27,314 people have reached the UK in 558 inflatable dinghies so far in 2023 – an average of 49 people crammed into each vessel.
The revelations of French waste will prompt fresh fury after it emerged rescue teams allowed a dinghy to continue its journey towards the UK as it was rescuing migrants.
The vessel’s engine had broken down, investigators said. But the migrants managed to restart the engine and they were allowed to leave.
The French authorities said 21 migrants had been rescued from the dinghy. But others “refused to be rescued”.
A spokesperson for the Maritime Prefect added: “Given the risks incurred by migrants in the event of restrictive actions to force them to board State rescue resources (falling overboard, thermal shock, various trauma) it was decided to let them continue their journey.”
Several other groups of migrants were intercepted by French authorities over the weekend after their boats got into difficulty in the Channel.
Analysis – by Politico – showed more than £17.4m was spent in 2012, compared to just £1.7m in 2019.
Some of the money has also been given to officers policing France’s border with Italy.
But officials defended the move, insisting that some of the migrants crossing the Channel arrive in France by crossing the Italian border.
They insisted their focus is on dismantling smuggling networks, with 47 groups broken up in 2022 and 28 so far in 2023.
