Up to 50 migrants a week could be sent back to France under a deal being thrashed out by France and the UK today during Emmanuel Macron's state visit.
The French president and Sir Keir Starmer will round off the three-day state visit with a press conference in London at which they are expected to announce new plans to tackle small boat crossings.
A deal has not yet been finalised but a pilot scheme could start as early as next week, according to reports, and could see migrants returned to France in exchange for those with genuine claims to be in the UK.
If such a deal were struck, it would only result in the return of a fraction of the 21,000 people who have made the channel crossing so far in 2025, a record for this point in a year.
In return, Mr Macron is said to be pushing for the UK to do more to address “pull factors” which are attracting people to make the dangerous crossing to the English coast.
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Key Points
- Fifty migrants a week could be sent back to France under deal
- Starmer and Macron agree on need for new deterrent against boat crossings, UK says
- Pictured: Starmer and Macron embrace ahead of crunch summit
- Britain and France set to announce one-in one-out migrants deal, according to reports
- Reports UK and France already agreed migrants deal are 'speculation', sources say
Starmer and Macron are up against a small boats crisis – but how many migrants cross the Channel and who gets turned away?v
10:02
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Alexander Butler
Pictured: Starmer and Macron embrace ahead of crunch summit
09:47
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Alexander Butler
French President Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir Starmer embraced before the Franco-British summit where they are expected to discuss migration.
The pair shook hands and posed for photographs outside Downing Street before entering Number 10 on Thursday morning.
Analysis: Now, Starmer the statesman needs to up his game at home
09:40
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Alexander Butler
Pictured: Migrants sit on an inflatable dinghy as it sails along the coastline near Gravelines, France
09:30
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Alexander Butler
Watch: Macron tells UK it was stronger when it was part of European Union in Brexit swipe
09:18
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Alexander Butler
Progress on small boats ‘slow’, but joint action is coming, Healey says
09:10
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Alexander Butler
The UK is making "slow progress" on tackling small boat crossings and needs joint action, the Defence Secretary has said, ahead of Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron's talks to hammer out a migration deal.
John Healey told LBC the Government has deported 30,000 people in the last year and reduced the number of people in asylum hotels.
“This is slow progress, but it is progress, and it can only be based ... on the sort of agreements and joint action that we'll see, I hope, announced at the summit today.”
Healey says migrant deal only possible under Labour
09:00
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Alexander Butler
John Healey has hailed Sir Keir Starmer’s efforts to rebuild ties with the EU, saying a migrant returns deal would not have been possible under the Conservatives.
The defence secretary said his boss was the first PM since Brexit to host a European ally for a state visit, and that Sir Keir’s overtures “have allowed us on small boats to start doing things that simply were not happening before”.
“It also allows us to double down on the defense coordination and cooperation that is also at the heart of the summit discussions, which I'll join shortly in Downing Street,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Channel migrant: ‘I will not stop until I get to Britain’
08:45
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Alexander Butler
A BBC News package is shedding light on why Sir Keir Starmer faces an uphill battle to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.
Speaking to Gamul, a 27-year-old Egyptian in Calais, the broadcaster asked why he wanted to come to the UK.He said the language is easy to learn and the UK is safe, as well as being a place he will be listened to and looked after.
He said: “If the authorities catch me, I will try again… I will not stop until I get to Great Britain.”
Migrants must see the risk of Channel crossing, Dover MP says
08:32
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Alexander Butler
The MP for Dover and Deal, where migrants crossing the Channel land when arriving in the UK, has said migrants must see the risk of illegal migration.
Labour’s Mike Tapp said those crossing the Channel in small boats are paying up to £6,000 to do so.
“They need to realise there is a high risk they will be returned almost immediately to France, if we can get enough of those real life examples, where people sat in Calais have that doubt, then it starts to break the smuggling gangs’ model,” he told the BBC.
Asked about reports just 50 migrants each week would be covered by a so-called one-in one-out deal, Mr Tapp said he cannot comment on the numbers ahead of the announcement.
‘No single solution’ to small boat crisis, Healey says
08:15
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Archie Mitchell
John Healey has said there is “no single solution” to the crisis of small boats crossing the Channel.
The defence secretary said a one-in one-out migrant deal, expected to be announced by Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, would be part of a wider suite of measures to bear down on illegal migration.
He told BBC Breakfast: “There is no single solution to this, there is certainly no quick fix… the action with the French needs to be stepped up.”
He said parliament is also granting the government counter-terror powers to chase the smuggling gangs managing the crossings.
Stopping the boats is ‘shared challenge’, Healey declares
08:05
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Archie Mitchell
John Healey has said tackling small boats crossing in the Channel is a "shared challenge" between France and the UK.
This comes as Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron engage in talks to hammer out a migration deal during a Franco-British summit at Downing Street on Thursday.
Asked whether France could stop all the small boats crossing "overnight" if they wished to, the defence secretary told Sky News: “The discussions are only taking place because over the last year, we've been able to establish with the French a recognition that this is a shared challenge, that they are working together with us, and that's the reason that we've seen increased beach patrols, more drone patrols.”
He added: "As a Government, we're not interested in blame. We're interested in taking the action together that can help reduce the number of small boats coming across, the number of lives also being lost in the Channel...
“And we're interested in re-establishing the control of our borders that the previous government lost in recent years.”
Fifty migrants a week could be sent back to France under deal
07:56
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Alexander Butler
Up to 50 migrants could be sent back to France under a deal being thrashed out by France and the UK today, according to reports.
French newspaper Le Monde reported that some 50 migrants a week would initially be returned to France in exchange for those with genuine claims to be in the UK.
If such a deal were struck, it would only result in the return of a fraction of the 21,000 people who have made the channel crossing so far in 2025, a record for this point in a year.
Pictured: Migrants sit on an inflatable dinghy as it sails along the coastline near Gravelines, France, on Thursday
07:49
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Alexander Butler
What is the 'one in, one out' deal?
07:37
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Alexander Butler
Under the terms of the deal, Britain would accept migrants with links to the country in exchange for sending others back across the channel.
French newspaper Le Monde reported that some 50 migrants a week would initially be returned to France under the terms of the proposed deal, which it described as largely symbolic.
If such a deal were struck, it would only result in the return of a fraction of the 21,000 people who have made the channel crossing so far in 2025, a record for this point in a year.
But it would also represent a concession by the French that such returns are possible, after years of MPs on the right of British politics insisting France is a “safe” country where migrants can be sent back to.
Starmer and Macron are up against a small boats crisis – but how many migrants cross the Channel and who gets turned away?
07:19
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Alexander Butler
Macron and Starmer aim for 'concrete progress' on small boats crisis at Thursday's summit, No 10 indicates
07:00
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Tara Cobham
Both French president Emmanuel Macron and prime minister Sir Keir Starmer aim for "concrete progress" on the small boats crisis at Thursday's summit, No 10 indicated, as well as on other joint working, like support for Ukraine.
Sir Keir welcomed Mr Macron to Downing Street on Wednesday ahead of a full UK-France summit on Thursday involving ministerial teams from both nations.
Recap: Watch as Macron jokes that loan for Bayeaux Tapestry 'took more years to deliver than Brexit texts'
06:00
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Tara Cobham
Brigitte Macron: Who is the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron?
05:00
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Tara Cobham
Emmanuel Macron’s wife Brigitte has joined her husband for the state visit to the UK as she met with the Royal Family months after a controversy around her appearing to slap the French leader.
Dressed in a white, button-up dress, Brigitte was met at RAF Northolt by the Prince and Princess of Wales before driving to Windsor to meet King Charles and Queen Camilla.
She captured headlines across the globe in May after she appeared to push the French President in the face as the couple arrived in Vietnam for the start of a Southeast Asia tour.
Read more here:
Watch: Starmer hosts Macron for crunch migration talks
04:00
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Tara Cobham
Recap: Winking Macron clinks glasses with royals at dazzling Windsor Castle state banquet
03:00
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Tara Cobham
Emmanuel Macron was welcomed to Windsor Castle for a glittering banquet on Tuesday, as he was pictured clinking glasses and winking at royals.
The French president sat amongst the likes of Mick Jagger and Elton John at the star-studded event on the first day of his state visit to the UK.
The Princess of Wales was dressed in a dark red silk Givenchy gown as she sat next to Mr Macron for her first state banquet since her cancer diagnosis.
Athena Stavrou reports:
Small boats crisis 'requires shared solutions', Macron and Starmer agree
02:00
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Tara Cobham
Small boats crossing the English Channel is a "shared priority that requires shared solutions", Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir Starmer have agreed ahead of a summit between France and Britain.
The prime minister and France's president insisted their two countries "need to go further" to stem the tide of boats making the journey, Downing Street said after the leaders' held a head-to-head meeting at No 10.
The UK has been pressing for tougher action from the French authorities on the beaches along the English Channel coast, while Mr Macron has suggested Britain needs to make efforts to reduce the "pull factors" attracting migrants.
Watch: Starmer's blunt one-word answer to tax grilling
01:00
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Tara Cobham
Reports UK and France have already agreed one-in one-out migrants deal are 'speculation', government sources say
Thursday 10 July 2025 00:08
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Tara Cobham
Government sources have described reports that the UK and France are set to announce a one-in one-out migrants deal as “mere speculation”.
Following reports in French and British media that an agreement was set to be unveiled at the bilateral summit tomorrow, a government source told The Independent: "It’s speculation and talks are ongoing."
Analysis: Starmer is unlikely to get the help he needs from Macron to stop the boats
Thursday 10 July 2025 00:00
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Tara Cobham
The loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum is meant to symbolise the “close and deepening” relationship between the UK and France.
But it is also an uncomfortable reminder that small boats crossing the Channel is not a new problem, and it can end up leaving one in the eye for the leader in England.
Prime ministers coming from France have their own agenda, even if the entente is a great deal more cordial now than in the days of William the Conqueror.
The Independent’s political editor David Maddox writes:
UK-France alliance is 'more important than ever', Starmer says
Wednesday 9 July 2025 23:00
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Tara Cobham
Sir Keir Starmer has said the alliance between France and the UK is "more important than ever".
Speaking at the British Museum earlier, the prime minister warned the world is now entering an era of "huge change and turmoil".
Watch: Farage’s anti-Macron speech drowned out by hecklers
Wednesday 9 July 2025 22:00
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Tara Cobham
Macrons attend banquet at Guildhall this evening
Wednesday 9 July 2025 21:30
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Tara Cobham
The Macrons, joined by The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, are attending a banquet at Guildhall this evening, given by the Lord Mayor and City of London Corporation.
The Lord Mayor and the president are both making speeches following the dinner.
Comment: Now, Starmer the statesman needs to up his game at home
Wednesday 9 July 2025 21:00
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Tara Cobham
Labour MPs are still shellshocked after last week's revolt on welfare. Some of the 126 rebels privately regret signing the amendment to the welfare legislation which forced ministers' humiliating retreat, given the damage to Keir Starmer and his government.
"We only wanted to blow the bloody doors off," one MP said, recalling the words of Michael Caine's character in the film The Italian Job. Rebels wonder whether they instead have brought Labour's house down.
Inside the government, the blame game goes on. I'm told people are viewing each other suspiciously. Relations between Downing Street and government whips remain fraught. Some cabinet ministers complain that Alan Campbell, the chief whip, has been unfairly cast as the fall guy even though he warned No 10 about the scale of the revolt weeks earlier.
Andrew Grice writes:
Pictured: Macron visits Downing Street for crunch migration talks
Wednesday 9 July 2025 20:40
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Athena Stavrou
Macron credits King with helping secure Bayeux Tapestry loan deal
Wednesday 9 July 2025 20:20
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Tara Cobham
Emmanuel Macron credited the King with helping secure a deal that will see the Bayeux Tapestry loaned to the British Museum.
Speaking at the museum on Wednesday, the French president said: "During decades, I have to say, I have to confess, we did our best not to be put in this situation to make this loan of the Bayeux Tapestry, and we found the best experts in the world to explain in perfect detail why it was totally impossible to make such a loan.
"And believe me, we found them. And believe me, we could have found them again.
"But we just decided a few years ago, and I have to pay tribute to your King, because it was a discussion together and I saw his attachment, his willingness to this project, and I am very happy to make it with you, Mr Prime Minister, dear Keir."
He also paid tribute to culture secretary Lisa Nandy, French culture minister Rachida Dati, and the British Museum for helping to "unlock everything".
Brigitte Macron: Who is the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron?
Wednesday 9 July 2025 20:00
,
Athena Stavrou
Britain and France set to announce one-in one-out migrants deal, according to reports
Wednesday 9 July 2025 19:40
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Tara Cobham
Britain and France are set to announce a one-in one-out migrants deal, according to reports.
From next month, the UK will return up to 50 small boat migrants to France each week in a deal that is expected to be unveiled at a summit on Thursday, The Times reported.
Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron are set to announce a limited trial starting in late August, before the scheme is scaled up once “proof of concept” has been shown, with as many as 1,500 migrants then to be sent back by the end of the year, sources told the newspaper.
Britain is reportedly expected to agree to accept an asylum seeker with UK family connections in exchange for every small boat migrant sent back to France.
Winking Macron clinks glasses with royals at dazzling state banquet
Wednesday 9 July 2025 19:20
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Athena Stavrou
What is a state visit?
Wednesday 9 July 2025 19:00
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Athena Stavrou
State visits are ceremonial meetings between heads of state that are used to honor friendly nations and sometimes smooth relations between rivals.
While the king formally issues the invitation for a state visit, he does so on the advice of the elected government.
State visits to Britain are particularly prized by heads of state because they come with a full complement of royal pomp and circumstance, including military reviews, carriage rides and a glittering state banquet hosted by the monarch.
The events normally take place in and around Buckingham Palace in central London.
But the Macrons will stay at Windsor Castle, to the west of the capital. Buckingham Palace is undergoing extensive remodeling.
Macron says no 'tariffs' on cultural exchange as he hailed Bayeux Tapestry deal
Wednesday 9 July 2025 18:40
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Tara Cobham
Emmanuel Macron said there were no "tariffs" on cultural exchange as he hailed a deal that will see the Bayeux Tapestry come to the British Museum.
He said: "Mr Prime Minister, you expressed how important are our links and our future projects for our two countries - for Europe, in these hectic times, for the rest of the world - and I strongly believe that culture is part of them.
"I strongly believe that as long as we will have people dedicated to life, to create, to share, to defend culture in our countries, to invent new spaces for that and to have, indeed, sculptors, architects, creators, curators, we will be very special for the rest of the world.
"Because there is no equivalent of that, and this type of tools are unbeatable. There is no trade war or tariffs against this type of approach, and there is no new imperialism vis-a-vis this type of approach, because there are no barriers, there are no borders, by definition."
He added that the exchange of the Bayeux Tapestry and Sutton Hoo artifacts would be "the best symbol of our common work together".
Starmer and Macron brought 'sanity back' to Britain-France relationship, Osborne says
Wednesday 9 July 2025 18:25
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Tara Cobham
George Osborne praised Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron for bringing "some sanity and some fraternity back" to the relationship between Britain and France.
The British Museum chairman and former Tory chancellor said: "Mr President and Prime Minister, congratulations to you both on bringing some sanity and fraternity back to the relationship between our two great nations."
Starmer and Macron agree small boats crisis is 'shared priority requiring shared solutions'
Wednesday 9 July 2025 18:20
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Tara Cobham
The small boats crisis is a "shared priority that requires shared solutions", Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron agreed as they met on Wednesday, Downing Street said.
Giving a readout of the two leaders' meeting at No 10, a Downing Street spokesperson said they "shared their desire to deepen our partnership further - from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment".
The spokesperson added: "The prime minister welcomed the news that EDF would take a 12.5 per cent stake in Sizewell C, leading to lower bills, more jobs and better energy security for the UK.
"The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.
"The prime minister spoke of his government's toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.
"The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.
"Finally, they looked ahead to the 37th UK-France Summit taking place tomorrow and agreed to aim for concrete progress on these areas."
Starmer and Macron agree on need for new deterrent against boat crossings, UK says
Wednesday 9 July 2025 17:55
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Tara Cobham
British prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron agreed on Wednesday on the need to go further and develop a new deterrent to tackle irregular migration and small boat crossings across the Channel.
"The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions," a British readout of a meeting between the two in London said.
"The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs."
'Will you shut up': Farage's anti-Macron speech interrupted by hecklers
Wednesday 9 July 2025 17:44
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Athena Stavrou