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

Published

3 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

FIFA backs away from dynamic pricing for all World Cup 2026 tickets

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3 hours ago

December 3, 2025

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FIFA backs away from dynamic pricing for all World Cup 2026 tickets

FIFA has backed away from using dynamic pricing for all 2026 World Cup tickets amid concerns about the cost of attending the tournament in North America.

The organisers insisted they always planned to ring-fence tickets at set prices to follow your own team.

But the announcement comes just days ahead of Friday’s tournament draw in Washington DC, which Donald Trump plans to attend.

Fans will have to wait until Saturday to know exactly where and when their teams will be playing in next summer’s tournament.

Variable pricing – fluctuating based on demand – has never been used at a World Cup before, raising concerns about affordability.

England and Scotland fans have been sharing images in recent days of ticket website images highlighting cost worries.

But world football’s governing body said in a statement to Sky News: “FIFA can confirm ringfenced allocations are being set aside for specific fan categories, as has been the case at previous FIFA World Cups. These allocations will be set at a fixed price for the duration of the next ticket sales phase.

“The ringfenced allocations include tickets reserved for supporters of the Participating Member Associations (PMAs), who will be allocated 8% of the tickets for each match in which they take part, including all conditional knockout stage matches.”

FIFA says the cheapest tickets are from $60 (£45) in the group stage. But the most expensive tickets for the final are $6,730 (£5,094).

There will also be a sales window after the draw from 11 December to 13 January when ticket applications will be based on a fixed price for those buying in the random selection draw.

It is the biggest World Cup with 104 matches after the event was expanded from 32 to 48 teams. There are also three host nations for the first time – with Canada and Mexico the junior partners.

FIFA defended using fluctuating pricing.

“The pricing model adopted for FIFA World Cup 26 reflects the existing market practice for major entertainment and sporting events within our hosts on a daily basis, soccer included,” FIFA’s statement continued.

“This is also a reflection of the treatment of the secondary market for tickets, which has a distinct legal treatment than in many other parts of the world. We are focused on ensuring fair access to our game for existing but also prospective fans.”

The statement addressed the concerns being raised about fans being priced out of attending.

FIFA said: “Stadium category maps do not reflect the number of tickets available in a given category but rather present default seating locations.

“FIFA resale fees are aligned with North American industry trends across various sports and entertainment sectors.”

Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales could also still qualify.

World

Why Putin won’t agree to latest Ukraine peace plan

Published

3 hours ago

December 3, 2025

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Why Putin won't agree to latest Ukraine peace plan

The Americans were given the full VIP treatment on their visit to Moscow.

There was a motorcade from the airport, lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and even a stroll around Red Square.

It felt like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on more of a tourist trail than the path to peace.

They finally got down to business in the Kremlin more than six hours after arriving in Russia. And by that point, it was already clear that the one thing they had come to Moscow for wasn’t on offer: Russia’s agreement to their latest peace plan.

According to Vladimir Putin, it’s all Europe’s fault. While his guests were having lunch, he was busy accusing Ukraine’s allies of blocking the peace process by imposing demands that are unacceptable to Russia.

The Europeans, of course, would say it’s the other way round.

But where there was hostility to Europe, only hospitality to the Americans – part of Russia’s strategy to distance the US from its NATO allies, and bring them back to Moscow’s side.

Putin thinks he’s winning…

Russia wants to return to the 28-point plan that caved in to its demands. And it believes it has the right to because of what’s happening on the battlefield.

It’s no coincidence that on the eve of the US delegation’s visit to Moscow, Russia announced the apparent capture of Pokrovsk, a key strategic target in the Donetsk region.

It was a message designed to assert Russian dominance, and by extension, reinforce its demands rather than dilute them.

…and believes US-Russian interests are aligned

The other reason I think Vladimir Putin doesn’t feel the need to compromise is because he believes Moscow and Washington want the same thing: closer US-Russia relations, which can only come after the war is over.

It’s easy to see why. Time and again in this process, the US has defaulted to a position that favours Moscow. The way these negotiations are being conducted is merely the latest example.

With Kyiv, the Americans force the Ukrainians to come to them – first in Geneva, then Florida.

As for Moscow, it’s the other way around. Witkoff is happy to make the long overnight journey, and then endure the long wait ahead of any audience with Putin.

It all gives the impression that when it comes to Russia, the US prefers to placate rather than pressure.

According to the Kremlin, both Russia and the US have agreed not to disclose the details of yesterday’s talks in Moscow.

I doubt Volodymyr Zelenskyy is filled with hope.

World

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan healthy but isolated in jail, his sister says

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3 hours ago

December 3, 2025

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Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan healthy but isolated in jail, his sister says

Imran Khan is suffering from isolation after weeks of being denied access to relatives, his family have said.

Khan has been in jail since his August 2023 arrest after he was handed a three-year prison term for illegally selling state gifts.

Now two of his three sisters have spoken out about the former Pakistani prime minister’s plight.

Uzma Khanum was the only family member permitted to meet him in Adiala jail, Rawalpindi, where supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party had gathered to protest against the conditions of the 73-year-old’s detention.

Ms Khanum said that Khan, a former cricketer, is facing isolation and psychological strain in prison following weeks in which his family said access had been blocked.

“He’s physically well,” said Ms Khanum. “But he’s kept inside all the time, and only goes out for a short while. There’s no contact with anybody.”

The meeting took place under strict supervision, said Ms Khanum, though she declined to provide further details.

PTI says routine prison visits have been blocked for weeks despite court orders, fuelling rumours about his condition and possible prison transfers.

‘Suppressing the people’

One of Khan’s other sisters Aleema Khan told The World with Yalda Hakim that she believes Pakistani authorities were isolating him as an attempt to “suppress the people of Pakistan”.

“I think they are operating out of fear. He represents 90% of this country. How can you put a person who represents 90% of the country in jail?

“They basically want to suppress the people of Pakistan. They don’t want their voice to be heard and they are standing behind Imran Khan. They thought if they isolated [him] people will forget him.”

Authorities deny any mistreatment, and say that Khan is receiving all entitlements available to prisoners.

Ahmed Hassan Al-Arabi, an advisor to Pakistan’s Ministry of Information, told Sky News: “The jails are there as a punishment. They are there for the criminals to stop the evil from the criminals emanating into the society.

“If it has to become a political hub, there is no point of jail. Imran Khan’s sisters have been given access [to him].

“There is no distinction between politicians and Imran Khan’s family members, unfortunately“.

Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

He has claimed that the charges against him are politically motivated – and aimed at blocking his political career.

Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, is serving time in the same prison over corruption, but they are not allowed to see each other except when they appear in court, his supporters have said.