UK-France migration deal faces collapse as Burnham begs Macron

London loves Business ^ | September 10, 2026 | Mark Harrison

[MinorityRepublican]

The UK’s agreement with France to return small boat migrants is facing renewed uncertainty, with Andy Burnham appealing directly to President Emmanuel Macron to preserve a deal that officials fear Paris could abandon.

The arrangement, which is due to expire at the end of the month, allows Britain to return people who have crossed the English Channel illegally in exchange for France accepting an equivalent number of asylum seekers for transfer to the UK.

A UK government source said France was “on the verge of pulling out” of negotiations, as the two governments have yet to agree terms for extending the scheme.

The arrangement has so far resulted in about 1,400 migrants being returned to France and a similar number of asylum seekers transferred legally to Britain, according to figures reported by The Times. That represents about 4 per cent of the 32,549 people who have arrived in small boats since the agreement began on August 6 last year.

Officials on both sides of the Channel have suggested Paris is reluctant to make the arrangement permanent because it has not delivered the scale of returns expected. France is also facing difficulties deporting migrants returned from Britain, leaving some in legal and administrative limbo.

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TOPICS: France; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: campofthesaints; riversofblood

[montag813]

What a f**king loser. First he says Britain backs the "underdog" - Palestinian terrorists, against Israel - in order to appease the growing Muslim voting bloc in the UK.

Now he's BEGGING France to stop migrants - which France is happy to get out of their own country - instead of simply using his Navy to stop them and return them to France, or Africa, or better yet to SINK the rafts to send a clear message to them all.

[dfwgator]

[SharpRightTurn]

“better yet to SINK the rafts to send a clear message to them all.”

You rightly pointed to the solution.

[Leaning Right]

> allows Britain to return people who have crossed the English Channel illegally in exchange for France accepting an equivalent number of asylum seekers for transfer to the UK <

Huh? What nonsense is that? Maybe I’m just dense, but how does such an agreement solve anything?

It would be like one sheep rancher saying to another, “You captured 10 hungry wolves on your property. I captured 10 on mine. Let’s swap wolves.”

[KarlInOhio]

Send over the SAS on some night raids to poke holes in the boats on the beaches and piers in France. They can’t get to England if they sink ten feet off the French shore.

[Paul R.]

The problem with your suggestion is that

A) You are supporting summary execution for a civil offense, which cannot possibly hold up legally, and,

B) As a practical matter, the UK can hardly keep its warships at sea, these days. :-(

If I want to be Monty Python silly, I can wonder if the UK can still produce big working catapults?

[JohnBovenmyer]

> summary execution for a civil offense

An invasion is a civil offense? De facto and by intent it is one. To make it de jure, just call it what it really is. They are illegal combatants, no uniforms, no rights, and liable for summary execution. Then commandeer some of the elites pleasure boats and position them mid channel with bull horns and some Enfields rescued from storage. Start plunking holes in the air cells of any inflatables that keep coming after bull horned warnings. Probably have to mount something a bit bigger on a few yachts to handle the more substantial invasion craft. Rarely need more than 20mm or 40mm and wouldn’t need a very large ‘yacht’ to mount either.

[wally_bert]

Call it training exercises.