Starmer and Macron share sorrow over Channel migrant death, as PM calls for Europe to work together to tackle crisis
18 July 2024, 21:37 | Updated: 18 July 2024, 21:59
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have shared their condolences at the death of a migrant in the English Channel, after the Prime Minister urged European leaders to work together to tackle the crisis.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Officials said Starmer and the French president "expressed their condolences for the victims of the tragic events in the channel yesterday and last week," during a meeting in Oxfordshire at the end of a summit of around 50 European leaders.
Downing Street said in a statement that Macron and Starmer "committed to strengthening their cooperation on irregular migration and the fight against criminal gangs responsible for this tragic loss of life through small boat crossings."
"The Prime Minister presented the UK’s new Border Security Command and the vital role it will play in this mission," they added.
It comes after a British Border Force vessel returned a migrant boat back to France for the first time in history, following the death of a migrant in the Channel.
The boat was rescued by a British rescue vessel and returned to France, as requested by the French coast guard.
It does not represent an official change of UK government policy, Starmer confirmed in a press conference on Thursday afternoon. Those on board required immediate medical attention.
Earlier on Thursday, Macron said there was "no silver bullet" to stopping the small boats crisis, as Starmer called for greater co-operation between the UK and Europe.
Speaking at the fourth European Political Community summit on Thursday morning, the Prime Minister said the number of migrants crossing the Channel is now a full-blown "crisis".
“We must bring resolve to another challenge facing our continent, the vile trade of people smuggling,” the Prime Minister told European leaders in Oxford on Thursday.
“Let’s be frank, challenge is the wrong word, it is a now a crisis.”
Read More: Starmer not seeking migrant returns deal with European nations, Foreign Secretary tells LBC
“As we speak, as we gather here, a criminal empire is at work in every country represented here today, profiting off human misery and desperation.
“[They are] prepared to send infants, babies, pregnant mothers, innocent people to their deaths.
“Last week, four more souls, and last night another one, were lost in the waters of the English Channel - a chilling reminder of the human cost of this vile trade.”
Later on Thursday, Starmer announced up to £84 million in funding for humanitarian causes as he vowed to tackle the migrant crisis at source.
The PM told reporters in a press conference that work with European partners must be accompanied by efforts further afield, to prevent the "huge problems" abroad from having a knock-on effect at home.
Starmer said: "To stop illegal migration, we must also tackle it at source so today I’m announcing £84 million of new funding for projects across Africa and the Middle East."
Officials said that the funding would be "up to £84 million" from the existing foreign aid budget and that it would be spent over three years. The cash will go on projects "to improve education and employment opportunities" as well as schemes to build resilience to wars and climate change.
The Prime Minister also announced new initiatives with Slovenia and Slovakia to tackle serious organised crime in their countries.He said in his closing speech that it wasn't "just a good idea to work with our partners", but that it was "essential."
Last week, four migrants died attempting to cross the Channel.
A boat carrying as many as 67 migrants had to be rescued off the coast of Boulogne sur Mer, northern France.
63 are believed to have been rescued, according to French outlet BMF TV, but four are suspected dead, the French coastguard has said.
A French navy patrol vessel arrived on the scene after reports emerged of migrants falling into the Channel.
