Deal between UK and France over small boat crossings ‘in final stages’, says Number 10
A deal between the UK and France to tackle people crossing the Channel in small boats is in its “final stages”, Downing Street has said.
Rishi Sunak met Emmanuel Macron, the French president, earlier today at the COP27 climate talks in Egypt to discuss the issue, with the prime minister saying he left “with renewed confidence and optimism”.
Mr Sunak said there would be “more details in the coming weeks”.
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Pressed on those details later, his official spokesman revealed a deal was close to being done and talks on the specifics were taking place separately, indicating they would involve Home Office officials.
Almost 40,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year.
Mr Sunak reportedly wants to agree targets with Mr Macron for stopping boats, and a minimum number of French officers patrolling beaches, and to be able to deploy Border Force officers in France.
The prime minister said he was “determined to grip” the situation, but added there was “not one simple solution that’s going to solve it overnight”, pledging to work with other European leaders on the “shared challenge”.
Speaking after the meeting, the French president also said he wanted better coordination between the two countries to cope with the issue.
Earlier, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would “work upstream” with Mr Macron “to stop the smugglers in the first place” if he were prime minister, adding: “Before I was a politician, I was director of public prosecutions, I know how these cross-border operations work.
“That is the discussion I would have, I hope it is the discussion that our prime minister will have.”
‘Challenge far from over’
The migrant crisis was brought into focus last week by overcrowding at the Manston processing centre in Kent, where 4,000 people who had made the crossing were packed into a space designed to hold 1,600.
It led to growing pressure on Mr Sunak over his reappointment of Home Secretary Suella Braverman, with claims she ignored legal advice and blocked people being moved to hotels, accusations she denies.
Speaking in the Commons this afternoon, Sir Roger Gale, the veteran Tory MP who had described the Manston situation as “a breach of humane conditions”, said: “We are now nearly back to where we need to be with the Manston processing centre operating efficiently.”
He asked for assurance from Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, that “Manston is a processing centre and not an accommodation centre”.
Mr Jenrick said the numbers were now down to less than 1,600 and that it was not the government’s “intention that Manston is turned into a permanent site for housing migrants”.
He said: “The population is now back at an acceptable level and that is a considerable achievement. It’s essential that it remains so and he is right to say that the challenge is far from over… we have to be aware of that and to plan appropriately.”
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Conservative MP for North Thanet Sir Roger Gale told Sky News last week that the situation in the Manston migrant centre was a ‘breach of humane conditions’.
During the debate Lee Anderson, a Tory MP in Nottinghamshire, said that sourcing accommodation for “illegal immigrants” left him a “bitter taste” in his throat.
“I’ve got 5,000 people in Ashfield who want to secure council housing and they cannot get one. Yet, we’re here debating this nonsense once again,” he said.
“The blame lies in this place right now – when are we going to go back and do the right thing and send them straight back the same day?”
Mr Jenrick said the government “should be guided by both our common desire for decency because those are our values, but also hard-headed common sense”.
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
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