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France has cancelled a meeting with the UK to discuss Channel crossings after Boris Johnson asked the French to take back migrants arriving in Britain.

French interior minister Gerald Darmanin has told Home Secretary Priti Patel “she was no longer welcome” at Sunday’s European meeting on migrant issues, a French government spokesman said.

Spokesman Gabriel Attal said it was because of Mr Johnson’s letter to French President Emmanuel Macron.

“That letter was formally poor and its content inappropriate,” Mr Attal told BFMTV.

This is what remains of the boat that capsized in the Channel and resulted in the deaths of 27 people
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This is what remains of the boat that capsized in the Channel and resulted in the deaths of 27 people

Mr Darmanin said the letter is a “disappointment” and the fact it was made public was “worse”, according to reports in French media.

An Interior Ministry statement, reported in French media, said the letter was “unacceptable and contrary to our discussions between counterparts”.

The meeting will now go ahead with just France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the European Commission.

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Conservative MP Tim Loughton told Sky News the French need to “get read” and realise there are consequences to “turning a blind eye” to Channel crossings.

He added that the PM has “come up with practical solutions” and it is “extraordinary” Paris has cancelled the meeting.

Mr Darmanin and Ms Patel spoke on Thursday, with the Home Secretary’s office saying they emphasised the need for “deeper co-operation” and agreed to remain in touch.

Governments on both sides of the Channel have been blaming each other this week after 27 migrants drowned on Wednesday evening off the coast of France as they tried to get to the UK on a small dinghy.

In the letter to Mr Macron, which he tweeted out, the PM set out five steps he thinks both sides should take “as soon as possible”.

The PM’s five-point plan entails:

• Joint patrols to prevent migrant boats from leaving French beaches
• Using more advanced technology such as sensors and radar
• Carry out reciprocal maritime patrols in each nation’s territorial waters and utilise airborne surveillance
• “Deepening the work” of the Joint Intelligence Cell and ensuring there is better intelligence sharing to drive more arrests and prosecutions
• Committing to “immediate work” to strike a bilateral returns agreement between Paris and London, as well as discussions on a UK-EU agreement.

Migrants, including young children, were brought ashore by a rescue vessel after crossing the Channel.
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Migrants, including young children, arriving in the UK the day after 27 died

“If those who reach this country were swiftly returned the incentive for people to put their lives in the hands of traffickers would be significantly reduced,” Mr Johnson said.

“This would be the single biggest step we could take together to reduce the draw to Northern France and break the business model of criminal gangs.

“I am confident that by taking these steps and building on our existing cooperation we can address illegal migration and prevent more families from experiencing the devastating loss we saw yesterday.”

Suggestions the number of migrants crossing the Channel has reached record levels this year due to Brexit were dismissed by transport secretary Grant Shapps.

He told Sky News: “I think it’s a bit of a red herring to mix it up with Brexit, it’s not even an argument I’ve heard before.

“There were plenty of people crossing before but in different ways, they tended to do it by lorry but what’s different here is the number of people doing it by sea.

“I think the Europe argument is confusing here because it’s not related to that. It’s heartbreaking to see and I think it’s incumbent on the UK and France to do everything they can do to resolve this and get on top of this human tragedy.”

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RWAs build mirrors where they need building blocks

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Most RWAs remain isolated and underutilized instead of composable, DeFi-ready building blocks. It’s time to change that.

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Collapsed crypto firm Ziglu faces $2.7M deficit amid special administration

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Heidi Alexander says ‘fairness’ will be government’s ‘guiding principle’ when it comes to taxes at next budget

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Heidi Alexander says 'fairness' will be government's 'guiding principle' when it comes to taxes at next budget

Another hint that tax rises are coming in this autumn’s budget has been given by a senior minister.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was asked if Sir Keir Starmer and the rest of the cabinet had discussed hiking taxes in the wake of the government’s failed welfare reforms, which were shot down by their own MPs.

Trevor Phillips asked specifically if tax rises were discussed among the cabinet last week – including on an away day on Friday.

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Tax increases were not discussed “directly”, Ms Alexander said, but ministers were “cognisant” of the challenges facing them.

Asked what this means, Ms Alexander added: “I think your viewers would be surprised if we didn’t recognise that at the budget, the chancellor will need to look at the OBR forecast that is given to her and will make decisions in line with the fiscal rules that she has set out.

“We made a commitment in our manifesto not to be putting up taxes on people on modest incomes, working people. We have stuck to that.”

Ms Alexander said she wouldn’t comment directly on taxes and the budget at this point, adding: “So, the chancellor will set her budget. I’m not going to sit in a TV studio today and speculate on what the contents of that budget might be.

“When it comes to taxation, fairness is going to be our guiding principle.”

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Afterwards, shadow home secretary Chris Philp told Phillips: “That sounds to me like a barely disguised reference to tax rises coming in the autumn.”

He then went on to repeat the Conservative attack lines that Labour are “crashing the economy”.

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Chris Philp also criticsed the government’s migration deal with France

Mr Philp then attacked the prime minister as “weak” for being unable to get his welfare reforms through the Commons.

Discussions about potential tax rises have come to the fore after the government had to gut its welfare reforms.

Sir Keir had wanted to change Personal Independence Payments (PIP), but a large Labour rebellion forced him to axe the changes.

With the savings from these proposed changes – around £5bn – already worked into the government’s sums, they will now need to find the money somewhere else.

The general belief is that this will take the form of tax rises, rather than spending cuts, with more money needed for military spending commitments, as well as other areas of priority for the government, such as the NHS.

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