Andy Burnham praises UK-EU ties in meeting with Emmanuel Macron

Andy Burnham praises UK-EU ties in meeting with Emmanuel Macron

The pair are discussing small boats, defence and Ukraine in Burnham's first bilateral talks in Downing Street.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has praised the UK-EU relationship as he holds talks with French President Emmanuel Macron about issues such as small boat crossings in the English Channel and defence.

The pair are discussing 'shared challenges' including the rise of 'mega dinghies' crossing the Channel illegally, which the Conservatives say shows the UK government has failed to 'smash the gangs'.

Burnham said it was 'so fitting' that Macron was his first overseas visitor in Downing Street since becoming PM in July, describing him as 'our nearest neighbour and close friend Emmanuel'.

Macron's visit to the UK was primarily to mark the Bayeux Tapestry's loan to the British Museum. The French leader met King Charles at the museum on Wednesday, ahead of the medieval tapestry going on public display next week.

In bilateral talks on Thursday, Burnham and Macron are discussing not just small boats but also the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as defence and EU co-operation.

But the 'mega dinghies' crossing the Channel illegally - first seen earlier in August with a 15-metre long vessel carrying a record 230 migrants towards the UK - are arguably the most pressing challenge facing the pair.

It follows a summer when the overall number of small boat arrivals in the UK fell to a seven-year low.

Between 1 January and 1 September 2026, a total of 16,513 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France. This was down by 43% on the same period the previous year.

Nearly all those who arrive by small boat claim asylum. Under international law, this means they are allowed to stay in the country while their asylum application is considered.

Small boat arrivals made up 40% of asylum applications between July 2025 to June 2026.

Experts say overcrowding in boats makes crossings riskier. At least 84 people died while attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, according to the United Nations (UN).

When looking at the scale of small boats crossings, the number of these arrivals is about 5% of the size of total immigration into the UK from January 2025 to December 2025.

The government has pledged to “smash the gangs” behind these crossings in order to reduce the numbers.

People from Eritrea accounted for 18% of all arrivals from July 2025 to June 2026.

In the latest figures covering January 2025 to December 202