Britain is sending France an eye-watering £500million for help stopping small boats including the construction of a brand-new facility to hold intercepted Channel crossers.

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But more than a year on from the 2023 deal there has been no sign spades have even gone in the ground on what would be a crucial element in the fight against smuggling gangs.

The Sun’s attempt to get answers through freedom of information laws has been denied by the government in order to spare French blushes.

We asked whether building work had started, whether a site had even been identified and when was the estimated completion date.

Yet the Home Office said: “Releasing it [the information] could damage our ever-evolving relationship with the French Government.

“This relationship is vital to our work with the French Government which constitutes the joint response to irregular migration from France to UK, including by dangerous, illegal and unnecessary crossings of the Channel by people in small boats.

“Should these relationships incur damage, this strategic response to prevent migrant crossings would likely experience setbacks, which in turn might increase the risk of threat to life from those crossings.”

While admitting there was a “public interest in guaranteeing value for money” it refused to give a progress update on the detention centre.

When announced in 2023 the holding facility was hailed by No10 for allowing more migrants who might otherwise travel by dangerous and illegal routes to the UK to be removed from the French coast.

Alp Mehmet from Migration Watch told The Sun: “My feeling is that we have given the French far too much money so far, and it doesn’t appear to have made much progress.

“The Home Office also needs to be much more transparent and forthcoming with information.”