British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions regarding migration, the war in Ukraine, and trade during an official meeting in London on Thursday. This meeting was Burnham's first with a European leader since he took office on July 20, succeeding former Labour Party leader Keir Starmer.
The leaders addressed shared challenges, including the issue of small boat crossings and the use of larger dinghies transporting undocumented migrants and asylum seekers to England’s south coast, as stated in a United Kingdom government press release. According to Downing Street, the UK has recorded the lowest number of small boat arrivals since 2020, but emphasized that the government will continue to combat the criminal gangs involved in these crossings.
In response to the discussions, the UK government announced that France will send a “surge team” of 45 officers to its western beaches in the coming weeks, as part of an agreement made in April aimed at reducing unauthorized small boat crossings in the English Channel.
Burnham remarked on the progress made over the summer, highlighting the benefits of UK-France cooperation. He also expressed a desire for closer post-Brexit collaboration with Europe to stimulate domestic growth, stating that Britain must be “bolder” in its approach. However, he maintained the previous government's stance against rejoining the EU's single market or customs union and its internal freedom of movement rules.
Concerns were raised regarding the EU’s Made in Europe agenda, which aims to protect the steel industries within the bloc, as it could negatively impact the UK's struggling steel sector. A UK government spokesperson noted that Burnham outlined the potential challenges this agenda poses for UK industry.
Macron described the meeting as a “very important moment” for UK-France relations, expressing his commitment to strengthening ties between the two nations. The leaders also discussed defense matters, including plans for establishing local assembly lines in Ukraine for the SCALP long-range missile, which incorporates British technology, and reflected on the recent Coalition of the Willing meeting held in Kyiv.