UK and France announce '1 for 1' migrant deal and plan for 'post-ceasefire' Ukraine

After hosting Mr Macron for a three-day visit, which included a carriage ride to Windsor Castle with King Charles and a state dinner, Mr Starmer received a much-anticipated political boost when Mr Macron said France had agreed to a migrant return mechanism.

Mr Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since his landslide election victory last year, is trying to tackle high levels of immigration, including asylum seekers arriving in small boats across the Channel from France, in a bid to stem the rise of the populist UK Reform Party, led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage.

"One-for-one" migration deal

At a joint press conference, the two leaders said they had agreed a “one-for-one” return mechanism, under which Britain would deport undocumented people arriving by small boat to France, in return for accepting an equal number of legitimate asylum seekers with family links in the UK.

"I am delighted to announce today our ground-breaking agreement on a pilot return scheme. For the first time, migrants arriving in small boats will be detained and returned to France at short notice," Mr Starmer said, standing alongside Mr Macron. "This will show others attempting the same journey that it is futile."

However, it remains unclear whether the deal will have a major impact. A joint statement said the deal would need to be “preliminarily examined in full transparency and in understanding with the European Commission and EU Member States” – something that is likely to take some time.

A British government source said they were reviewing about 50 returns a week, equivalent to 2,600 people a year, a fraction of the more than 35,000 who arrived last year.

For his part, Mr Macron has criticised Britain's decision to leave the European Union, saying that "many people in your country have explained that Brexit will allow you to fight illegal immigration more effectively" but the result has been "quite the opposite". He has also previously called on Britain to tackle "the factors that attract migrants", suggesting that it should be made harder for migrants to find work in the UK without legal residency status.

Strengthening defense cooperation and support for Ukraine

Underscoring their desire for closer ties, which have been damaged by Britain’s departure from the EU in 2020, the two leaders agreed to step up defense cooperation. They have both joined a call for a “coalition of the willing,” a group of countries that plan to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.

In the call, Mr Starmer told Mr Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, that it was time to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table to try to secure a peace deal. Meanwhile, the focus should be on ensuring Ukraine is in the strongest possible position.

They agreed that Paris would be the new headquarters of the “coalition of the willing,” which would rotate to London after the first 12 months. The group would create a post-ceasefire force to rebuild ground troops, secure Ukrainian skies and provide maritime security.

The two leaders also pledged to order more Storm Shadow cruise missiles, currently in use in Ukraine, and signed an agreement to deepen nuclear cooperation that for the first time made clear that the respective deterrent forces of both countries could be coordinated.

“As close partners and NATO allies, the UK and France have a deep history of defence cooperation and today’s agreements take our partnership to a new level,” Mr Starmer said.