Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the necessity for a “new deterrent” to discourage small boats crossings within the Channel, Downing Road has mentioned.
The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as a part of the French president’s state go to to the UK, which started on Tuesday.
Excessive up the agenda for the 2 leaders is the necessity to deal with small boat crossings within the Channel, which Mr Macron mentioned yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.
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The small boats disaster is a urgent concern for the prime minister, on condition that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK within the first six months of this 12 months – an increase of just about 50% on the quantity crossing in 2024.
Sir Keir is hoping he can attain a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, forward of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which can contain ministerial groups from each nations.
The deal would see these crossing the Channel illegally despatched again to France in change for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a household connection within the UK.
Nonetheless, it’s understood the deal continues to be within the steadiness, with some EU nations sad about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.
A press release from Downing Road mentioned: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Road this afternoon.
“They mirrored on the state go to of the president up to now, agreeing that it had been an necessary illustration of the deep ties between our two nations.
“Shifting on to debate joint working, they shared their want to deepen our partnership additional – from joint management in help of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and rising bilateral commerce and funding.”
It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the specter of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared precedence that requires shared options.
“The prime minister spoke of his authorities’s toughening of the system up to now 12 months to make sure guidelines are revered and enforced, together with an enormous surge in unlawful working arrests to finish the false promise of jobs which might be used to promote areas on boats.
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“The 2 leaders agreed on the necessity to go additional and make progress on new and modern options, together with a brand new deterrent to interrupt the enterprise mannequin of those gangs.”
Chris Philp, the shadow house secretary, seized on the assertion to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories declare would have despatched asylum seekers “coming into the UK illegally” to Rwanda.
He mentioned in an internet submit: “We had a deterrent able to go, the place each single unlawful immigrant arriving over the Channel could be despatched to Rwanda.
“However Starmer cancelled this earlier than it had an opportunity to begin.
“Now, a 12 months later, he is realised he made an enormous mistake. That is why numbers have surged and this 12 months up to now has been the worst in historical past for unlawful channel crossings.
“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he is misplaced management of our borders.”
