Keir Starmer is heading for a showdown with France’s President Emmanuel Macron over small boat migrants, when the pair meet in the UK this week. The Prime Minister is demanding French police take more action to stop migrants departing France to make the perilous journey across the Channel in small boats, after the UK complained that officials were simply watching the boats leave.
He wants the boats stopped while they are still in shallow water. There was a sign of progress last week when French police waded into shallow waters off a beach south of Boulogne and used knives to slash an inflatable small boat, but this does not yet appear to be a regular occurrence.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last week called on France to change its rules “as swiftly as possible”. She said on Friday: “We’ve seen these just appalling scenes of people just standing in the water, climbing into the boats, French police unable to do anything about it.”
Mr Marcron is conducting a state visit which means his host is the King, but will have a number of meetings with the Prime Minister.
The UK’s relationship with France is “key” to tackling small boat crossings, Downing Street said today. A No 10 spokesman said the UK’s “joint work with the French is stronger than it has ever been”, adding: “We very much look forward to welcoming President Macron for a historic state visit this week.
“That relationship is key to a number of issues, and we expect to make good progress on a wide range of priorities, including migration, growth, defence and security, which will deliver on the interests of both the British and the French public.
Asked whether the French police’s use of a knife to puncture an inflatable boat last week was a sign of new tactics being employed, the spokesman appeared to suggest a discussed new approach had not yet been rolled out.
He said: “We are the first Government to have secured agreement from the French to review their maritime tactics so their border enforcement teams can intervene in shallow waters.
“This is operationally and legally complex, but we’re working closely with the French. We expect this to be operationalised soon.”
Last week the number of small boat migrants crossing the Channel in 2025 pushed past 20,000, the earliest point this has happened in a calendar year since data started being recorded in 2018.
Sir Keir and president Macron are set to discuss immigration when they hold a summit later this week.
The two leaders spoke on Saturday, and said they hoped to make “good progress” on the matter in their talks expected on Thursday.
Issuing a readout of their conversation, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “Turning to the UK-France summit on Thursday, they hoped to make good progress across a wide range of our joint priorities including migration, growth, defence and security.”
