UK provided £3m to Turkish border forces to stop migrants, FOI reveals

Investigation shows Home Office funds return and reintegration assistance' and provides equipment and training to Turkish police

The Home Office has provided more than 3m in funding to Turkish border forces in the last year to prevent migrants reaching the UK, an investigation for the Guardian has found.

Funding to Turkey's border force operations has increased substantially from 2019, when 14,000 was given to Turkish police and coastguard for maritime border security training, according to documents obtained through freedom of information (FOI) requests. That figure rose to 425,000 in 2021-22 for training and equipment and up to 3m this year for return and reintegration assistance", training and personnel.