Theresa May has seen ‘no plans’ for bridge to France

Boris Johnson raised the prospect of a new link from UK

Theresa May has not seen any plans for a bridge from Britain to France despite Boris Johnson’s desire for a new fixed link across the English Channel, Downing Street said.

Number 10 appeared to cool on the Foreign Secretary’s idea after it was greeted with scepticism by the UK’s shipping and haulage industries.

Mr Johnson raised the prospect of a second crossing to link the UK to mainland Europe following a top-level summit attended by the Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron at Sandhurst on Thursday.

Mrs May hailed the meeting as a sign of the “entente chaleureuse” – or “warm relationship” – between the two countries as they prepare for Brexit.

It was agreed to establish a new panel of experts to look at major joint projects.

But asked if the PM supports a new bridge, a Downing Street spokesman told reporters: “I haven’t seen any plans on that.”

He added: “What was agreed yesterday, and I think that’s what the Foreign Secretary tweeted about as well, is a panel of experts who will look at major projects together including infrastructure.”

The spokesman could not provide details of who would sit on the infrastructure panel or what it would look at. He said Mr Johnson was doing an “excellent job”.

Experts have insisted a bridge is “entirely feasible”, possibly with a stretch of tunnel in the middle to avoid having an impact on one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

But trade body the UK Chamber of Shipping said in a tweet: “Building a huge concrete structure in the middle of the world’s busiest shipping lane might come with some challenges.”

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) said the costs and practical implications of a bridge across the Channel would be “enormous” and that it would be better to spend money improving the UK’s “crumbling” roads and opening more lorry parks.

RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: “The Channel Tunnel and the ferry routes are working well within capacity, so it makes no sense to commit huge amounts of taxpayers’ money in an uncertain economic climate to a costly bridge project that we don’t need.”

Mr Johnson said “good connections” were important to the UK-France relationship and raised the idea that the Channel Tunnel should be regarded as merely “a first step” in the physical links uniting them.

Sources close to Mr Johnson claimed the French President was enthusiastic about the idea of a new link.

Picture: Getty. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson at an official dinner at the Victoria and Albert Museum on Thursday, also attended by Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron.