Image source, Getty Images
Macron and Burnham are holding bilateral talks connected a scope of issues
ByEwan Somerville
Political reporter
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has praised the UK-EU narration arsenic helium holds talks with French President Emmanuel Macron astir issues specified arsenic tiny vessel crossings successful the English Channel and defence.
The brace shook hands and posed for photographs alongside their wives extracurricular 10 Downing Street connected Thursday morning.
They are discussing "shared challenges" including the emergence of "mega dinghies" crossing the Channel illegally, which the Conservatives accidental shows the UK authorities has failed to "smash the gangs".
Burnham said it was "so fitting" that Macron was his archetypal overseas visitant successful Downing Street since becoming PM successful July, describing him arsenic "our nearest neighbour and adjacent person Emmanuel".
Image source, Reuters
Burnham and Macron posed for photographs alongside their wives, Marie-France van Heel and Brigitte Macron
"It shows what collaboration tin achieve, conscionable arsenic we are besides showing connected Ukraine, connected tiny boats, and besides connected strengthening the UK-EU relationship. So I look guardant to discussing those themes further with you today," Burnham added.
Macron's sojourn to the UK was chiefly to people the Bayeux Tapestry's indebtedness to the British Museum. The French person met King Charles astatine the depository connected Wednesday, up of the medieval tapestry going connected nationalist show adjacent week.
In bilateral talks connected Thursday, Burnham and Macron are discussing not conscionable tiny boats but besides the conflicts successful Ukraine and the Middle East, arsenic good arsenic defence and EU co-operation.
But the "mega dinghies" crossing the Channel illegally - archetypal seen earlier successful August with a 15-metre agelong vas carrying a grounds 230 migrants towards the UK - are arguably the astir pressing situation facing the pair.
It follows a summertime erstwhile the wide fig of tiny vessel arrivals successful the UK fell to a seven-year low.
Tap the questions below
How galore radical transverse the English Channel successful tiny boats?Between 1 January and 1 September 2026, a full of 16,513 radical crossed the English Channel by tiny vessel from France. This was down by 43% connected the aforesaid play the erstwhile year.
These crossings person go the astir communal mode for radical to beryllium detected entering the UK illegally since 2020.
Nearly each those who get by tiny vessel assertion asylum. Under planetary law, this means they are allowed to enactment successful the state portion their asylum exertion is considered.
Small vessel arrivals made up 40% of asylum applications betwixt July 2025 to June 2026.
Boats that arrived successful the UK from 2 September 2025 to 1 September 2026 carried an mean of 68 people. This has much than doubled since 2021.
Experts accidental overcrowding successful boats makes crossings riskier. At slightest 84 radical died portion attempting to transverse the Channel successful 2024, according to the United Nations (UN).
When looking astatine the standard of tiny boats crossings, the fig of these arrivals is astir 5% of the size of full migration into the UK from January 2025 to December 2025.
The authorities has pledged to “smash the gangs” down these crossings successful bid to trim the numbers.
Who is arriving successful the UK connected tiny boats?People from Eritrea accounted for 18% of each arrivals from July 2025 to June 2026.
In the latest figures covering January 2025 to December 2025, astatine slightest 2,335 radical who arrived by tiny vessel were recovered to beryllium imaginable victims of quality trafficking oregon different forms of modern slavery, according to the Home Office.
How other bash radical enactment successful the UK without permission?Another 4,712 radical were detected entering the UK without support via different methods including hiding successful vehicles, travelling connected ferries oregon done airports from July 2025 to June 2026. This was down by 17% connected the aforesaid play the erstwhile year.
There are besides individuals who get legally, for illustration via a enactment oregon survey visa, and past overstay their limit.
The full fig of radical who unrecorded successful the UK illegally aft arriving legally is not known.
Downing Street says 45 other constabulary officers are being deployed to French beaches successful a "surge team" to tackle larger dinghies with much radical packed onto them.
Earlier connected Tuesday, Home Office Minister Anna Turley said the officers were "just portion of the armoury" of much than 1,000 officers connected bluish French beaches who are present doing "actual intervention" successful the water.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that videos successful caller weeks "show them going to the boats, slashing them, pushing radical back, being bombarded with stones and bricks and coming nether a batch of situation to bash that, truthful they are intervening".
Conservative shadiness location caput Chris Philp has called for British fiscal enactment for the French authorities to beryllium withheld until they forestall each embarkations successful shallow waters connected their broadside of the Channel.
In a post connected X, external, successful which helium said helium was "do[ing] authorities differently", Burnham laid retired the latest tiny boat, returns and asylum edifice figures, describing smuggling gangs arsenic a "shared European challenge".
At the aforesaid clip arsenic Macron arrived successful Downing Street, Conservative person Kemi Badenoch held a property league to heap further unit connected Burnham to acceptable retired a timeline to spending 3% of the UK's gross home merchandise (GDP) connected defence.
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