Headline: Burnham and Macron Hold Talks on Small Boats, Defence and UK-EU Relations

Date: 3 September 2026

Tags: UK Politics, France, Migration, Europe

Summary:

• Prime Minister Andy Burnham welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to Downing Street for bilateral talks.

• Macron is the first overseas leader to visit Downing Street since Burnham became prime minister in July.

• Burnham praised UK-France cooperation and called Macron a close friend and neighbour.

• Talks include Channel crossings, Ukraine, the Middle East, defence and closer UK-EU cooperation.

• Tackling larger “mega dinghies” carrying migrants across the Channel is a major focus.

• A 15-metre vessel carrying a record 230 migrants was detected crossing towards Britain in August.

• The UK is deploying 45 additional police officers to French beaches to tackle larger migrant boats.

• More than 1,000 officers are already operating on northern French beaches, according to the government.

• Burnham described people-smuggling networks as a shared European challenge requiring international cooperation.

• Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch welcomed European cooperation but argued government measures had not stopped Channel crossings.

Why this matters: France is central to UK efforts to reduce Channel crossings while strengthening European cooperation on security, defence and trade.

What’s next: Burnham and Macron will continue discussions on migration enforcement, European cooperation and international security.