French President Emmanuel Macron travels to the UK today (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are set to have a showdown over migration as the French President arrives for his state visit. Mr Macron and his wife Brigitte will be hosted by the King when they travel to the UK today.
During his stay in Britain, Mr Macron and Sir Keir will hold a Franco-British summit, where tackling migration is set to be a major issue. It comes as small boat migrant crossings have hit a record high so far this year.
Sir Keir’s plan to use the state visit to unveil a “one in, one out” deal with France is reportedly at risk following EU objections in a huge blow for the PM.
The Tories urged the Prime Minister to demand that France pays back the £771 million from Britain for not doing enough to tackle small boat crossings.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “We’ve paid France £771 million and they’ve stopped very few migrants on land and none at sea.
“This is in contrast to Belgium where embarkations have dropped 90% because they do intercept at sea. We should be asking France for a refund.”
Here’s the timetable for the first day of President Macron’s three-day visit to the UK.
Emmanuel Macron arrives in London this morning. He will be greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales at RAF Northolt along with wife Brigitte, and take part in carriage ride through Windsor with the king and queen around midday. There will guns and regimental bands to greet them at Windsor Castle, and the pair will have lunch with the king.
President Macron then addresses both Houses of Parliament, gathered in the House of Lords, at 4.15pm.
In the evening there is a white-tie state banquet at Windsor Castle, hosted by the king with President Macron the guest of honour. Around 150 people are invited, including of course Keir Starmer.
Labour minister pressed on if cash given to France to stop boats is ‘value for money’
Asked whether the hundreds of millions of pounds given to the French over the last decade to stop the small boat crossings in the Channel was “value for money”, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told Times Radio: “We will always spend our money in the public interest, in the national interest.
“I think that footage that we saw, whilst it wasn’t pleasant to see, in terms of the action that the French authorities were taking to cut those boats, to prevent people leaving the French shores, that’s action that we are supporting.”
Labour minister grilled on one-in, one-out migrant deal deal
Heidi Alexander insisted that stopping small boats would not happen “overnight” as she faced questions about whether crossings could be reduced without a one-in, one-out deal with France.
Asked whether the one-in, one-out arrangement was necessary to deal with Channel crossings, the Transport Secretary told Times Radio: “Well, look, we’re working very closely with the French authorities, and the visit of President Macron this week is another opportunity to continue those discussions.
“I’m not going to speculate on the coverage of this possibility of a one-in, one-out agreement with France. We’ve seen in the last couple of days, haven’t we, that the French authorities are now using some new tactics to stop the boats in shallow waters.
“We welcome that and we want to build on it. I know that the Prime Minister spoke with President Macron at the weekend.
“We’re looking forward to further discussions this week, because I think all of us want to tackle the misery, really, that these very sophisticated international criminal gangs are inflicting through this vile trade that operates across the channel.”
She added: “We’ve been honest that this is a problem that we’re not going to fix overnight… So we need to tackle this from all sides.”
Tories say Starmer should ask Macron for refund
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘We’ve paid France £771 million and they’ve stopped very few migrants on land and none at sea.
‘This is in contrast to Belgium where embarkations have dropped 90% because they do intercept at sea. We should be asking France for a refund.’
Macron to arrive for state visit today
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte arrive in Britain for a three-day state visit today as Sir Keir Starmer presses for more help stopping small boats crossing the Channel.
Mr Macron will be hosted by the King for the first state visit by a French president since 2008.
But there will be a political dimension to the visit as well, with the French leader expected to meet the Prime Minister for a Franco-British summit later in the week.
