insists the deal, which includes a new detention centre in France for migrants caught trying to get to Britain in dangerous small boats, would help cut the number of crossings and prove a “sensible investment”.
British officials will also be stationed permanently in France as part of a new “zonal co-ordination centre” designed to bring together different branches of French and British law enforcement. But Mr Macron has not agreed that France will accept migrants whose asylum claims in the UK are rejected, arguing that only an EU-wide deal would be effective.
The French Government is spending around five times as much as the British on the scheme, according to UK Government sources. As well as the migration deal, Mr Sunak and Mr Macron agreed to co-operate more closely on defence and energy policy, including by building more electricity interconnectors under the Channel.