PM making progress with France on small boats, says No 10
"We continually talk, and remain in constant contact with the French on how our joint action can go further to end the misery that these gangs are inflicting across our borders," the spokesperson added.The prime minister is pressing to make a "one in, one out" deal the centrepiece of a new agreement with France.The arrangement would allow Britain to return migrants who arrive by small boat to France in exchange for accepting asylum seekers with a family connection in the UK. Downing Street is in separate talks with the European Commission to overcome opposition to the deal from a group of five Mediterranean countries who have complained they may be forced to accept people deported from the UK.Sir Keir has also been pushing for France to revise its rules to allow police to intervene when boats are in shallow water, rather than requiring them still to be on land.Last week the BBC witnessed French officers use a knife to puncture an inflatable boat after it had launched in an apparent change of tactics. Asked about the tactics, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The French are now looking to bring in important new tactics to stop boats that are in the water, and we're expecting that to be operationalised soon."We are the first government to have secured agreement from the French to review their maritime tactics so their border enforcement teams can intervene in shallow waters."This is operationally and legally complex, but we're working closely with the French."
Since coming to power in July last year, Labour has announced a series of measures to tackle people-smuggling, including a new criminal offence of endangering the lives of others at sea.Legislation going through Parliament sets out plans to use counter-terror powers against people smugglers - with suspects facing travel bans, social-media blackouts and phone restrictions.But the latest figures show 2025 has already set a new record for small boat arrivals in the first six months of the year, since the data was first collected in 2018.Between January and June nearly 20,000 people arrived in the UK by crossing the English Channel in small boats - up 48% compared to the same period over 2024.
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Leader Live
20 minutes ago
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King speaks of UK and France's deepening co-operation amid ‘profound challenges'
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Telegraph
25 minutes ago
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Princess makes state banquet return in ‘entente cordiale' charm offensive
The Princess of Wales has made a dazzling return to a state banquet for the first time since her cancer treatment as she joined the King and Queen for a royal charm offensive to celebrate the 'entente cordiale'. The Princess, wearing a deep red gown and tiara, was seated next to Emmanuel Macron, the French president, as both listened intently to the King as he honoured his guests with compliments and a little light teasing. The Royal family had spent the day hosting Mr Macron and his wife Brigitte for their state visit, with the Princess making a welcome high-profile return for the full event alongside her husband, the Prince of Wales. After a day of double kisses on the cheek, the Royal family members and Macrons were joined by a host of celebrities for the lavish state dinner at Windsor Castle. The King's speech took in 1,000 years of shared history between Britain and France, with asides from mayonnaise to baguettes, the Norman conquest to Asterix, the French comic book character. 'We would not be neighbours if we did not have our differences,' he said, with 'amicable competition and occasionally even, dare I say, confusion' across cultures. The King also suggested that the famous 'entente cordiale' should now be upgraded to the 'entente amicale': a lyrical gesture of cross-Channel friendship. Over a Franco-British menu created and overseen by Raymond Blanc, the King raised a toast to his French guests during a speech which mixed flattery and fun with a more serious message. Speaking partly in French to 'Monsieur le President', the King said: 'The summit that you and the Prime Minister will hold in London this week will deepen our alliance and broaden our partnership still further.' Adding a list of specifics, from the Armed Forces to artificial intelligence, he added: 'Our security services and police will go further still to protect us against the profound challenges of terrorism, organised crime, cyber attacks and irregular migration across the English Channel '. Guests at the banquet in Windsor Castle – the first held there since 2014 – were serenaded by an orchestra playing an array of music from Vivaldi to pop star Dua Lipa, as well as Daft Punk, the French electronic duo, and songs from the musical Les Miserables. After dinner, port and cognac from the years of the King and president's respective births were served. Continuing a recent tradition introduced during the King's reign, an in-palace mixologist created a bespoke cocktail to reflect the visitors' culture: this time, the 'L'Entente' combined British gin with lemon curd and French pastis, garnished with dried French cornflowers and English roses. Guests at the banquet include Sir Michael Jagger, Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, Sir Elton John and David Furnish, writers Joanne Harris and Sebastian Faulks, artist Antony Gormley, England goalkeeper Mary Earps, and Fred Sirieix, the French star of British television programme First Dates. The table arrangement at Windsor Castle, set out in one long sitting, saw Mr Macron placed between the King and the Princess of Wales, while Mrs Macron was seated between the Queen and Prince of Wales on the other side. Addressing his guests, the King said: 'Of course, we would not be neighbours if we did not have our differences. This is a relationship built not only on co-operation and mutual fascination, but also on amicable competition and occasionally even, dare I say, confusion. 'The indomitable Gaul, Asterix himself, and no doubt many of his compatriots since, struggled to comprehend our beloved 'tasse de the avec un nuage de lait' taken at precisely five o'clock in the afternoon... just as we find it impossible to bake a baguette quite as well as your artisans make in France.' Speaking of the 'remarkable rapprochement' in recent years despite the 'profound' cultural 'differences that may never be overcome', he joked: 'This evening we have drunk English sparkling wine made by a French Champagne house. This would have been scarcely believable to at least some of our predecessors.' The King also quoted Sir Winston Churchill, Shakespeare and Charles de Gaulle, alluded to both the Windsor Castle and Notre Dame fires, and spoke warmly of his own state visit to France in 2023. He added: 'My firm belief is that friendship between Britain and France is vital if the liberties and peace of Europe are to be preserved. 'Therefore, as we dine here in this ancient place, redolent with our shared history, allow me to propose a toast to France and to our new entente. An entente not only past and present, but for the future – and no longer just cordiale, but now amicale.' The banquet ended the first full day of the French state visit, which began with a thoroughly British welcome which quickly turned French. From the moment the Mr and Mrs Macron landed at RAF Northolt, greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales, there were double kisses on the cheek, kisses to the hands, and manly pats on the back and shoulder all around. The King and Queen officially welcomed Mr and Mrs Macron to Windsor at midday, in another tactile encounter in the bright sunshine. Mr Macron embarked on his own charm offensive with the Queen and Princess of Wales, kissing their hands, while Mrs Macron leaned in to Queen Camilla for what seemed to be a catch-up with an old friend – which at one point involved her mimicking the action of riding a horse. The Princess curtseyed to the King twice, apparently unsure if he had seen the gesture of respect the first time. She embraced what has become known as 'diplomatic dressing', honouring the French guests by choosing to wear Christian Dior, while the Queen appeared to take inspiration from the late Elizabeth II by wearing unusually bright green to be seen in the crowd. Meanwhile, the King was seen to have a burst blood vessel in his right eye, said to be 'one of those things' that had developed overnight and was unrelated to any other health conditions. After hearing the national anthems of France and the UK, the Royal family and Macrons split into pairs to step into carriages for the journey through Windsor. The streets were lined with tourists and locals, some of whom waved flags and cheered as the official party rode past. The procession finished in the Windsor Castle Quadrangle, where the King joined the French president to inspect the troops as the Massed Band of the Grenadier Guards and the Scots Guards played L'Entente Cordiale. The music also featured traditional marches and music from France, including Marche Lorraine, La Pere de la Victoire, and Marche Militaria La Ronde. Members of the wider Royal family, including the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Duke of Gloucester, joined the King, Queen, Prince, Princess and Macrons for lunch in the State Dining Room, before going on to view items from the Royal Collection. Walking around the bespoke exhibition in the castle's Green Drawing Room, the King joked that Mr and Mrs Macron might like to sip a vintage Cognac as he showed them a bottle of Louis XIII Cognac in a Baccarat Cristal decanter once served to his grandparents and his parents during the 1938 and 1957 state visits. On Wednesday, after sleeping in the private apartments of Windsor Castle, the Macrons will lay flowers in St George's Chapel for the late Queen before rejoining the King and Queen to view a horse given to her by France. For the evening event, the Princess of Wales wore a dark red silk creponne gathered evening gown, with caped back detailing, designed by Sarah Burton for Givenchy. Burton designed the then Catherine Middleton's wedding dress, and now works for the French fashion house. The Princess accessorised with the Lover's Knot tiara, the Royal Family Orders of King Charles III and Elizabeth II, earrings which once belonged to the late Queen, and the GCVO sash and star. Mr Macron spoke partly in English for his own address, in which he relayed his thanks for the King's 'great courtesy' which he called 'testament to your friendship with France' – and raised his own laugh with a literary reference to 'Mr Darcy'. He also spoke warmly of Elizabeth II, repeating his words after her death to tell the Royal family and British guests: 'To you, she was your Queen; to us, she was The Queen'. Summing up the relationship between Britain and France, he said: 'When our Sense and Sensibility overcome our Pride and Prejudice, we are unstoppable.' Finishing his speech, Mr Macron turned to the King to address him directly. 'Now you have created the entente amicale,' he said. 'The entente amicale will be launched in Windsor in 2025 and we want to believe in this new era.'
Telegraph
39 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Leaving ECHR ‘will stop judges making political decisions'
Britain should leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in order to stop judges making political decisions, a Tory grandee has said. Lord Lilley, a former Cabinet minister, said the 'vague' terms in which the ECHR was drafted had enabled courts to extend their reach into the political sphere and override parliamentary decisions. In a report for the Centre for Policy Studies, a think tank, he said the most 'egregious' example was the decision by the European Court of Human Rights to back claims that people should be able to seek redress and compensation if their governments failed to take sufficient measures to protect them from climate change. He said this extended the reach of the court to environmental matters, which did not feature in the ECHR at all. This was a consequence of treating the ECHR as a 'living instrument', which enabled the European Court of Human Rights to create new laws in areas never envisaged by original signatory states to the convention, he said. By giving courts power to interpret vague ECHR rights and override parliamentary decisions, the ECHR transferred law-making authority from elected representatives to unaccountable judges, said Lord Lilley. 'This unavoidably politicises judicial decisions and undermines the rule of law,' he added. He said he believed the option of leaving should be considered because there was no consensus or appetite for reform, noting that quitting the ECHR or some of its specific clauses had been considered by successive prime ministers, irrespective of party affiliations. Despite having written the ECHR into British law in the form of the Human Rights Act, Sir Tony Blair asked John Reid, his then home secretary, to consider 'withdrawing from specific clauses' if they led to court rulings that put community safety at risk. 'During his campaign for Tory leader, David Cameron raised the possibility of leaving the ECHR entirely – possibly temporarily – to provoke a renegotiation that, if successful, would enable Britain to rejoin,' said Lord Lilley. ' Theresa May, as home secretary, faced major problems in deporting suspected terrorists and advocated leaving the ECHR.' Lord Lilley said the UK's withdrawal from the convention would not damage its international reputation or weaken its influence. 'The claim that the UK would become a 'pariah' if we leave the ECHR is a baseless nonsense. No one suggests that Australia, New Zealand and Canada are pariah states, even though they rely on parliamentary sovereignty, common law and domestic courts to maintain their freedoms,' he said. 'On the contrary, they are respected as epitomes of freedom. We would be in the same position as them.' He said countries would be unlikely to refuse to co-operate with the UK in tackling cross border crime or people smuggling if it quit the ECHR. 'The EU currently works on these issues with states who are not members of the ECHR or any equivalent international treaty covering human rights. It is inconceivable that the EU would spurn such mutually beneficial co-operation with us if we left the ECHR,' he said. He argued that it would also give the UK greater freedom to reduce the number successfully claiming asylum or refugee status and increase the number of illegal migrants or foreign criminals who could be deported. 'Undermining respect for rule of law' Home Office data show the proportion of asylum claims resulting in positive approval at first instance in the UK had risen from 25 per cent in 2010 to 67 per cent in 2023. Although this was partly explained by the higher proportion of applicants from countries like Afghanistan and Iran, 'it may also reflect the increasingly generous interpretation of human rights legislation in the UK which has been incorporated in guidance to officials', said Lord Lilley. By the end of last year, 42,000 asylum seekers were awaiting the outcome of their appeals, of which around 40 per cent specifically cited human rights. 'This has given rise to suggestions that human rights claims are being made almost automatically in the hope of striking lucky or to delay the process,' said Lord Lilley. 'It is not the fault of judges themselves, but the role imposed on them by the convention to make inherently political decisions, that is politicising our courts and undermining respect for the rule of law itself. I instinctively prefer reform, but that is inconceivable unless Britain is prepared to withdraw until meaningful change is agreed,' he said. 'Leaving would simply mean the UK joining other respected democracies like Australia and Canada that successfully protect human rights through parliamentary accountability without depending on an international court.'
