Emmanuel Macron appeared to open the door to Britain rejoining the EU last night – just hours after Nigel Farage warned MPs he was an “arrogant anti-Brexit President“.
The French premier, speaking at London’s Guildhall, vowed that “the European Union was stronger with the UK, and the UK was stronger with the European Union”.
He added: “I’m not one to decide for your country… I would love to see our two countries working closely together for our common future… taking much more risk together, investing much more together.
“We want to write our future and not have the story be written by another continent. The only way to choose our future is to do it together.”
His address came after a furious PMQs row in which Reform chief Farage attacked Sir Keir Starmer’s record on the migrant crisis.
Farage asked: “Does the Prime Minister understand that that demand today is even greater than it was back in 2016, and that we demand – the country demands – that you say to the French President we will not accept undocumented migrants across the English Channel and that you are not dictated to by an increasingly arrogant anti-Brexit French president?”
The Prime Minister, in return, accused the Reform leader of sticking “two fingers up at your neighbours and then expect them to work with us” as MPs erupted into cheers and jeers.
Talks between Britain and France over a “one-in, one-out” migrant deal have just hours left to reach a conclusion.
A press conference is set to be held at 3.30pm, while officials have confirmed last-ditch talks are set to continue today.
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Ed Miliband backs down on ‘postcode pricing’ energy bills plan
Ed Miliband has backed down on plans to split Britain into different energy pricing “zones”.
The Energy Secretary had been considering proposals for zonal pricing that would see different areas of the country pay different rates for their electricity, based on local supply and demand.
But the Government has now decided to retain a single national wholesale price.
Miliband said: “Building clean power at pace and scale is the only way to get Britain off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets and protect families and businesses for good.
“As we embark on this new era of clean electricity, a reformed system of national pricing is the best way to deliver an electricity system that is fairer, more affordable, and more secure, at less risk to vital investment in clean energy than other alternatives.”
‘Significant’ roadblocks still threatening Anglo-French migrant deal – reports
Negotiations over the Anglo-French migrant deal stretched long into Wednesday evening
PA
Significant obstacles still stand in the way of an Anglo-French migrant deal, including money, legal challenges in France and furious opposition from southern European countries.
One British official said the talks were “complex” and “fluid” – and warned that other EU countries needed to be consulted on its final workings alongside France.
Downing Street, meanwhile, vowed that Prime Minister was hoping to make “concrete progress” on a range of issues including illegal migration at the summit.
A French source, meanwhile, told The Guardian that Paris’s demands for more money for police on its north coast were “clearly very politically sensitive” for the UK.
Negotiations stretched long into Wednesday evening – and aides on both sides said there remained significant areas of disagreement, one of which is money.
Under Rishi Sunak, Britain signed a £480m deal to pay for additional border patrols and surveillance equipment such as drones and night-vision binoculars.
Since then, France has agreed to intercept boats in the sea as far as 300 metres from their shore, and are now asking for even more cash for police officers, boats and drones to enforce that policy.
Emmanuel Macron has consistently warned of “pull factors” for illegal migrants to Britain such as illegal working.
The PM has announced a number of policies in an attempt to slash illegal work, including more immigration enforcement raids.
One Government aide said: “If the French were asking us to do more illegal working raids, we would be fine with that.”
RECAP: As hours remain until crunch press conference… Britain to send back just 6% of migrants in new deal with Emmanuel Macron
Britain will only be able to return around six per cent of small boat migrants to France under a “one-in, one-out” deal being negotiated between Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron.
The UK will send back 50 migrants per week, according to French newspaper reports, meaning one in 17 Channel crossers will be sent back to Calais.
However, it is understood that the UK Government aims to increase these figures after the scheme has launched.
More than 44,000 migrants have arrived in the UK since Labour won the 2024 General Election.
The two leaders held talks in Downing Street to negotiate the deal, which will see the French take back illegal small boat migrants in return for Britain accepting asylum seekers from France.
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