French sea marshals to patrol channel ferries in UK waters

France and Britain are close to agreeing a deal that will allow armed sea marshals to patrol channel ferries in UK waters to combat terrorist attacks.

The new deal is expected to be agreed in the coming weeks but will only allow the marshals to patrol French-run ferries.

In August, France began an operation in French and international waters, allowing them to randomly drop onto a ferry and patrol the boat.

The first use of the marshals saw French maritime gendarmes dropped from a helicopter onto a Brittany Ferries boat travelling between Portsmouth and Saint-Malo as soon as it hit French waters.

Passengers were told it was a training exercise and were ordered off the outside decks while the officers were winched down and then began patrolling the boat.

There have been calls for the Royal Navy to be deployed in the channel to protect the UK against the heightened threat of terror, but there are currently no plans for a UK sea marshal force in place.

Government officials are expected to sign the ‘memorandum of understanding’ very soon.