Overview
- The first formal meeting between Prime Minister Andy Burnham and President Emmanuel Macron took place in London on Thursday and produced an agreement to increase joint action against unauthorised small‑boat crossings.
- As part of the stepped‑up measures France will send a 45‑officer surge team to western French beaches in the coming weeks to target smugglers and disrupt departures to the UK.
- Downing Street said small‑boat arrivals this summer fell to their lowest level since 2020 but warned that new larger 'mega dinghy' crossings mean pressure on criminal networks must continue to be reduced.
- The leaders discussed wider defence cooperation including plans to move forward on local assembly lines in Ukraine for the SCALP long‑range cruise missile, which is related to the UK’s Storm Shadow technology.
- Macron’s visit mixed policy and soft power, including the Bayeux Tapestry loan, and Burnham used the talks to condemn Israeli settlement moves in the West Bank while warning that the EU’s 'Made in Europe' procurement agenda could hurt UK industry.