London, Oct 28, (PA Media/dpa/GNA) – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron, have pledged to “deepening” the partnership between the their two countries, in a bid to render Channel crossings “completely unviable.”
In their first call on Friday morning since the prime minister took office this week, Sunak stressed the “importance” of the alliance as he sought to lay the groundwork for a warmer relationship, between Britain and France.
The rising number of crossings, has prompted a war of words between Britain and its continental neighbour in the past, as critics question whether the millions of pounds the government pays to France, to fund resources and police officers to curb the crossings is producing results.
A spokeswoman for Sunak said, “the prime minister stressed the importance for both nations to make the Channel route completely unviable for people traffickers. The leaders committed to deepening our partnership to deter deadly journeys across the Channel that benefit organized criminals.”
The pair also agreed on a “huge range of areas” on which it is “vital” the countries work together, including Ukraine, climate, defence and the economy, the spokeswoman said.
The talks came, as The Times newspaper reported Sunak, wants a new cross-Channel deal with France to include targets for how many boats are stopped from reaching the UK, to prevent the UK’s asylum system collapsing.
British ministers and officials will review a draft deal, that was reportedly close to being signed with France to make it more ambitious, government sources told the newspaper.
The plans are said to include a requirement for a minimum number of French police patrolling beaches at any one time, and new internal targets for Home Office staff to ,process 80% of asylum claims within six months.
More than 38,400 migrants have arrived in the UK, after crossing the Channel so far this year, according to provisional Government figures, compared to over 28,500 in 2021.
The Ministry of Defence recorded 308 people arriving in nine boats on Thursday, taking the number who have made the journey in October alone to over 5,400.
GNA