Sunak to push for returns agreement with France in bid to stop small boats

Published

2 years ago

March 10, 2023

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Rishi Sunak will use talks with President Emmanuel Macron to push for a returns agreement allowing migrants to be sent back to France after crossing the English Channel.

The prime minister is set to meet the French president in Paris on Friday where he will prioritise discussing his “stop the boats” plan.

Downing Street wants a bilateral agreement that would allow the UK to immediately return people arriving illegally in southern England to France.

The meeting is unlikely to lead to a breakthrough on such an accord, with British ministers and diplomats instead privately aiming to cajole Mr Macron’s administration into being a driving force behind an EU-wide returns agreement with London.

Labour said Mr Sunak will have “failed” if he comes back to the UK without a deal.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We need a new agreement with France.

“Rishi Sunak will have failed if he comes back from the summit without a new returns agreement and new joint arrangements to prevent dangerous boat crossings.”

The talks between the leaders come days after Mr Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who will also meet with her counterpart in the French capital on Friday, unveiled the controversial Illegal Migration Bill.

The legislation announced on Tuesday would see asylum seekers who arrive through unauthorised means detained, deported and hit with a lifetime ban from returning.

Charities, the EU and human rights groups have argued the proposals aren’t legal while questions have also swirled about how they will work in practice.

Under the UN Refugee Convention, people escaping war or persecution cannot be forced to return there.

The government also can’t return people or send them to a ‘third’ country – like Rwanda – unless they have agreed to take them.

Downing Street stressed that the gathering at the Elysee Palace “isn’t a summit on a single issue”, with energy security, the conflict in Ukraine and the “challenge posed by China” likely to be touched upon.

But the prime minister’s official spokesman confirmed Mr Sunak will look to raise his ambitions of working more closely on the issue of Channel crossings.

During a visit to Dover earlier this week he told reporters: “Certainly we are going in there with an ambition to go further on stopping the boats making these dangerous crossings.”

And in a briefing on Wednesday before the talks, he added: “I think these are important discussions that should deepen our work with our French counterparts on stopping the boats.

“It will build on the expansion we already saw the prime minister announce in his first few weeks [in office].

“We want a EU-UK returns agreement and will push that forward.”

PM ‘could green-light new deal’ on patrols

There is already a multimillion-pound agreement in place with France designed to help prevent crossings and target human trafficking gangs.

A revised deal announced in November was worth around £63 million, representing a hike of about £8m from a similar pledge signed in 2021.

Under the commitment, the number of French officers patrolling beaches on the country’s northern coastline rose from 200 to 300, while British officers for the first time were also permitted to be stationed in French control rooms and on the approaches to beaches to observe operations.

Nearly 3,000 people have arrived via small boats in the UK already this year but it is understood that France has successfully prevented around the same number from embarking on the journey.

Reports suggest that Mr Sunak is ready to green-light a deal that would secure a multi-year migration agreement with Paris which would include Britain paying millions of pounds to France every year for extra officers on the lookout on French beaches.

But French sources told The Independent Mr Macron is likely to reject calls for a returns agreement, after the UK disregarded his call to establish more safe and legal routes.

While the government has schemes in place for a limited number of Afghans, Ukrainians and people from Hong Kong, critics point out there is no legal route for asylum seekers from many other dangerous parts of the world.

Sylvie Bermann, a former French Ambassador to the UK, damped down the prospect of a returns agreement, telling Sky News: “We have twice as many asylum seekers than the UK so we take our part, I don’t think we’d be ready to take those people back.

“We are doing our best to prevent them crossing the Channel but I am not sure we will take them back.”

‘Beautiful renewed friendship’

The summit – a once regular event in the political calendar that has been revived by Mr Sunak after a five-year hiatus – is being viewed as a thawing in cross-Channel relations.

Tensions festered between London and Paris during Boris Johnson’s premiership, with Brexit causing frictions and sparking disputes over fishing grounds and trade.

During Liz Truss’s brief time as prime minister, she said the “jury is out” on whether Mr Macron was Britain’s friend.

But Mr Macron has been seen to be on more cordial terms with Mr Sunak than the prime minister’s predecessors, with Paris sources reportedly briefing that the summit should be seen as the “beginning of a beautiful renewed friendship”.

The PM is set to be joined in France by members of his cabinet, with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also travelling, along with Ms Braverman.

World

Women’s Euros: Concerns for player safety as tournament kicks off in Switzerland

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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Women's Euros: Concerns for player safety as tournament kicks off in Switzerland

The Women’s Euros begin in Switzerland today – with extreme heat warnings in place.

Security measures have had to be relaxed by UEFA for the opening matches so fans can bring in water bottles.

Temperatures could be about 30C (86F) when the Swiss hosts open their campaign against Norway in Basel this evening.

Players have already seen the impact of heatwaves this summer at the men’s Club World Cup in the US.

It is raising new concerns in the global players’ union about whether the stars of the sport are being protected in hot and humid conditions.

FIFPRO has asked FIFA to allow cooling breaks every 15 minutes rather than just in the 30th minute of each half.

There’s also a request for half-time to be extended from 15 to 20 minutes to help lower the core temperature of players.

FIFPRO’s medical director, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, said: “There are some very challenging weather conditions that we anticipated a couple of weeks ago already, that was already communicated to FIFA.

“And I think the past few weeks were confirmation of all worries that the heat conditions will play a negative role for the performance and the health of the players.”

Football has seemed focused on players and fans baking in the Middle East – but scorching summers in Europe and the US are becoming increasingly problematic for sport.

While climate change is a factor, the issue is not new and at the 1994 World Cup, players were steaming as temperatures rose in the US.

There is now more awareness of the need for mitigation measures among players and their international union.

FIFPRO feels football officials weren’t responsive when it asked for kick-off times to be moved from the fierce afternoon heat in the US for the first 32-team Club World Cup.

FIFA has to balance the needs of fans and broadcasters with welfare, with no desire to load all the matches in the same evening time slots.

Electric storms have also seen six games stopped, including a two-hour pause during a Chelsea game at the weekend.

This is the dress rehearsal for the World Cup next summer, which is mostly in the US.

The use of more indoor, air conditioned stadiums should help.

There is no prospect of moving the World Cup to winter, as Qatar had to do in 2022.

And looking further ahead to this time in 2030, there will be World Cup matches in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The temperatures this week have been hitting 40C (104F) in some host cities.

FIFA said in a statement to Sky News: “Heat conditions are a serious topic that affect football globally.

“At the FCWC some significant and progressive measures are being taken to protect the players from the heat. For instance, cooling breaks were implemented in 31 out of 54 matches so far.

“Discussions on how to deal with heat conditions need to take place collectively and FIFA stands ready to facilitate this dialogue, including through the Task Force on Player Welfare, and to receive constructive input from all stakeholders on how to further enhance heat management.

“In all of this, the protection of players must be at the centre.”

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Women’s Euros 2025: Where is it, how to watch and when are England and Wales playing?

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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Women's Euros 2025: Where is it, how to watch and when are England and Wales playing?

England are looking to defend their title at the 2025 Women’s Euros.

But conquering this year’s competition will be tricky right from the group stages.

The Lionesses will come up against Wales, who made history by qualifying for their first major tournament, and two other European heavyweights: France and the Netherlands.

As the tournament kicks off, extreme temperatures have raised questions about whether players are being protected in hot and humid conditions.

Here is everything you need to know about Euro 2025.

Where is Euro 2025 being held?

This year’s Women’s Euros is being held in Switzerland.

The competition kicks off on Wednesday 2 July, with the final on Sunday 27 July.

Matches will be held in eight venues across Switzerland from Zurich to Geneva, with the final game being played in Basel.

What teams have qualified?

A total of 16 teams have qualified for the competition.

Eight teams progressed directly from the qualifying league stage and seven teams qualified via the play-offs.

As hosts, Switzerland qualified automatically.

The teams playing in the tournament are:

• England
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Iceland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Sweden
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Wales

How much do the winners get?

This year, the total available prize money for the tournament stands at €41m (£34m) – more than doubling from the prize pot in 2022.

All competing sides receive a €1.8m (£1.5m) participation fee, with the remaining money going to the quarter-finalists, semi-finalists, runners-up and winners.

The maximum prize money achievable for the tournament winners, if they also win their three group stage matches, is €5.1m (£4.3m).

Who has (and hasn’t) made the England squad?

Some notable names will be missing from the England squad this year.

Goalkeeper Mary Earps announced in May that she is retiring from international football with immediate effect.

Within days, two other names, Fran Kirby and Millie Bright, also announced they would not be taking part in Euro 2025.

The departure of Bright, Earps and Kirby is a loss of three experienced players – between them they have 218 international appearances.

So who has manager Sarina Wiegman picked for the 23-person squad, and who has been snubbed?

Use our slider below to look through some of the key players, or see a list of the full England squad, here.

History-making Wales squad announced

The Welsh women’s national football team has qualified for an international tournament for the first time.

Their 23-player squad was announced by head coach Rhian Wilkinson at the summit of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) on Thursday morning.

Midfielder Angharad James captains the side, and is one of four players to have played over 100 times alongside fellow Wales veterans Jess Fishlock, Hayley Ladd and Sophie Ingle, who also made the cut.

Ingle hasn’t featured for club or country since suffering an ACL injury during a pre-season friendly for Chelsea last September.

The 33-year-old returned to full training at the beginning of the month and her inclusion comes as a significant boost ahead of Wales’ first major tournament.

Fishlock, Wales’ record appearance holder and goalscorer, will hope to add to her 47 international goals as she leads the line.

The side beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 in a play-off match to secure their spot in the Euros.

Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson said after the match: “This team found a way. They never broke for each other, they stayed strong. I’ve never been prouder of a team.

“This team stands on the shoulders of giants [the pioneering female footballers] who came before, and now they’ve proven how good they are.”

What are the Euro 2025 groups?

Similarly to the World Cup, teams in the Euros are split into four groups.

The top two teams in each group will progress to the knockout stage, where games will be decided by extra-time and penalties if needed.

The knockout stage pits the winners of the group against the runners-up, meaning Germany, Poland, Denmark or Sweden could lie in wait for England and Wales in the last eight.

Group A: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Finland

Group B: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy

Group C: Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden

Group D: France, England, Wales, Netherlands

When are England and Wales playing?

The Lionesses start their bid for the Euros title on 5 July when they take on France. The game will take place in Zurich at 8pm UK time.

Wales kick off their campaign earlier the same day, against the Netherlands. That game starts at 5pm UK time in Lucerne.

The two nations will be the last teams in Group D to face each other.

Their showdown will be held in the city of St Gallen, on Sunday 13 July. Kick-off is at 8pm UK time.

Can England win the Euros again?

The Lionesses lifted the Euros trophy in front of a home crowd in 2022, after beating Germany 2-1.

Chloe Kelly delivered the deciding goal in extra time, but can the team do it all again?

Lucy Bronze admitted to Sky News that the team faces “one of the hardest” groups going into the tournament, but added: “We know on any given day, when we play at our best we can beat any team in the world.”

The right-back said: “We have got one of the most talented squads going into the Euros… I wouldn’t want to be a defender on the other team going against some of our players.

“We know it is going to be difficult, there are maybe a handful of teams that are capable of winning it, and we are definitely one of them.”

After naming her squad in May, Weigman told Sky News sports correspondent Rob Harris: “This group is a very well-balanced mix of players with multiple tournaments on their CVs and also those that will make their tournament debuts.

“I am excited to see what we are capable of this summer.”

How to watch the Euros 2025

Eevery single match of the Women’s Euros will be shown across the BBC and ITV, with the two broadcasters showing half of the 31 matches each, except the final, which will be shown on both channels.

Every match will also be screened live at three venues across London and Birmingham.

TOCA Social at The O2 and Westfield White City in London and The Bullring in Birmingham is hosting watch parties for fans hoping to catch all the action.

World

Snake captured on passenger plane – as expert reveals how it got there

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2025

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Snake captured on passenger plane - as expert reveals how it got there

A flight in Australia was delayed for two hours after a stowaway snake was found in the plane’s cargo hold.

The reptile was found as passengers were boarding Virgin Australia Flight VA337 at Melbourne Airport bound for Brisbane.

Snake catcher Mark Pelley said he thought it could be venomous when he approached it in the darkened hold.

But it turned out to be a harmless 60cm green tree snake.

“It wasn’t until after I caught the snake that I realised that it wasn’t venomous. Until that point, it looked very dangerous to me,” Mr Pelley said.

He said when he entered the cargo hold, the snake was half hidden behind a panel and he feared it could flee deeper into the plane.

“I had one chance to grab it, and if it escaped past me it would have gone into the panels, and then that would have been extremely hard to catch,” he told Sky News.

“Snakes are very fast-moving, thin and agile,” he added.

Mr Pelley said he told an aircraft engineer and airline staff they would have to evacuate the aircraft if the snake disappeared inside the plane.

“I said to them if I don’t get this in one shot, it’s going to sneak through the panels and you’re going to have to evacuate the plane because at that stage I did not know what kind of snake it was,” he explained in a separate interview.

“But thankfully, I got it on the first try and captured it,” he added. “If I didn’t get it that first time, the engineers and I would be pulling apart a [Boeing] 737 looking for a snake still right now.”