Rishi secures landmark deal with Macron

LONDON - British immigration officers will be deployed to tackle the Channel crisis in French territory for the first time as part of a landmark deal, the Daily Mail can reveal.

The crucial agreement will allow UK Border Force officers into French control centres to help combat small-boat departures across the Channel.

The deal will also see the largest-ever sum handed by the UK taxpayer to France – thought to be around £80 million – for escalated anti-dinghy patrols.

Rishi Sunak indicated yesterday that an agreement was imminent after his first meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron.

Confidence

The Prime Minister said he had ‘renewed confidence and optimism’ that deals could be struck with Paris and other European partners to combat illegal immigration.

But critics warned that any new deal would have to deliver after years of broken promises.

Six weeks ago, the Mail revealed that a previous attempt at an accord with France had been torpedoed by Liz Truss’s remarks about Macron.

Boris Johnson’s government had been poised to announce a ‘ground-breaking’ agreement – but Truss unintentionally scuppered the deal when she said the ‘jury is out’ on whether Macron was a ‘friend or foe’.

Negotiations

Macron’s government pulled out of the Channel negotiations a few days later, even though an agreement was on the cusp of being signed and sealed.

Last night, negotiations were back on track as Downing Street confirmed talks were nearing a conclusion following a meeting between the two leaders at the Cop27 summit.

‘A deal is being discussed and I think is in its final stages,’ the prime minister’s official spokesperson said.

After meeting Macron in Egypt yesterday, Mr Sunak said: ‘There is an opportunity for us to work closely not just with the French but with other countries as well.

Confidence

‘I’m actually leaving this with renewed confidence and optimism that (by) working together with our European partners, we can make a difference, grip this challenge of illegal migration and stop people coming illegally.’

The PM refused to put a timescale on when the Channel migrant crisis might ease, although he promised to take new action as soon as possible.

‘We all want this situation to resolve itself as quickly as possible,’ he said.

‘I also want to be honest with people it’s a complex issue. It’s not one simple solution that’s going to solve it overnight, I wouldn’t be honest if I said there was.’

Officials are understood to be hammering out final details, with a formal announcement expected next week.