Non, merci! Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick claims Emmanuel Macron doesn’t want to fix the Channel migrant crisis ‘as punishment for Brexit’ and reveals French president ‘rejected migrant swap deal last year’
Emmanuel Macron doesn’t want to fix the Channel migrant crisis because he is keen to ‘punish’ Britain for Brexit, a Tory leadership hopeful claimed today.
Robert Jenrick launched the sensational attack on the French President as he bemoaned how the UK ‘cannot rely’ on its neighbour to stop small boat crossings.
The former immigration minister revealed the French leader ‘wouldn’t give a hearing’ to his plan for a ‘one-in, one-out’ migrant swap deal while he was in the Home Office.
His proposal would have seen Britain pay for each illegal migrant returned across the Channel, while the UK would take asylum seekers from France in exchange.
Mr Jenrick presented the plan to former prime minister Rishi Sunak in March last year, but said it was rejected by Mr Macron when offered to France.
Emmanuel Macron doesn’t want to fix the Channel migrant crisis because the French President is keen to ‘punish’ Britain for Brexit, a Tory leadership hopeful has claimed
Robert Jenrick launched the sensational attack on the French President as he bemoaned how the UK ‘cannot rely’ on its neighbour to stop small boat crossings
A group of people, thought to be migrants, are seen in a large dinghy in the English Channel earlier this month
Appearing on The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots show, Mr Jenrick was confronted with a leaked Home Office letter revealing his proposal to Mr Sunak.
‘What was shameful about that incident was that, as I understand it, Rishi Sunak put it to President Macron, and he rejected it,’ he said.
‘He wouldn’t even give it a hearing, because he didn’t want to fix this problem, probably as a punishment for Brexit.’
Mr Jenrick, who is competing with ex-business secretary Kemi Badenoch to replace Mr Sunak as Tory leader, claimed the French ‘don’t care’ about helping Britain.
He added: ‘The French could stop this tomorrow… but what I learned is you cannot rely on the French.’
Details of the Home Office letter, published by the newspaper, revealed how Mr Jenrick wrote to Mr Sunak on 2 March, 2023 ahead of an Anglo-French summit.
He told the then-PM that Britain ‘should be willing to make highly meaningful concessions’ to the French in a bid to stop Channel migrant crossings.
This included ‘offering to take one asylum seeker that has been successfully granted asylum in the French system in return for every one illegal migrant that we return to them’.
Mr Jenrick added the UK could even accept ‘more than one’ asylum seeker from France, in exchange for each illegal migrant returned, in a bid to ‘quickly break’ the business model of people-smuggling gangs.
He also proposed making an ‘ex gratia payment’ to France for each illegal migrant returned across the Channel as part of a ‘generous compensatory’ scheme.
The then-immigration minister suggested this could prove cheaper than Mr Sunak’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed.
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Broken promises, chaos and sleaze! Tories say Keir Starmer’s first 100 days in power were ‘terrifying’ – as nearly half of Brits who voted for them now feel let down, damning poll reveals
Labour‘s first 100 days in government have left half of those who voted for them with buyer’s remorse.
In dire polling for Sir Keir Starmer as his administration reaches the milestone today, 47 per cent of those who voted for the party said they had positive expectations but felt let down.
Six in ten think Labour has done a bad job, with just 18 per cent approving of its record, the survey by YouGov found.
Some 39 per cent say the country is already in a worse state than the Tories left it in.
Just 9 per cent think it is in a better state, while 44 per cent say it is roughly the same.
For weeks, the party has been mired in accusations of sleaze over the freebies scandal. This resulted in Sir Keir repaying £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria wave as they pose on the steps of 10 Downing Street in London on July 5
Protesters and Unite union supporters hold banners and placards during a rally against the reversal of the winter fuel payment
An audit of Labour’s pledges also reveals it has either failed to deliver on several promises or broken them by bringing in controversial measures which it never warned voters about during the election campaign.
These include stripping ten million pensioners of their winter fuel payment and giving up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick said: ‘It’s terrifying to think that after Labour’s disastrous first 100 days, there are another 1,700 to go [until the next election]. They’ve already broken their promises, surrendered British territory and become mired in chaos and sleaze.’
Among the policies which most angered those questioned was Labour’s move to release thousands of prisoners early despite vowing in its manifesto to ‘take back our streets’, halve serious violent crime and ‘raise confidence in the police and criminal justice system to its highest levels’. Some 68 per cent opposed the measure, with just 21 per cent supporting it.
Newly elected Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria outside No 10 Downing Street after the Labour party won a landslide victory at the 2024 General Election
Chagossians living in the UK protest against the British government’s decision to hand over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius
An image released by the US Navy shows an aerial view of Diego Garcia
The move to start means-testing winter fuel payments was only backed by 34 per cent. By contrast, 55 per cent opposed the move, which Labour claims will save about £1.4billon a year. In its manifesto, the party pledged to ‘deliver better outcomes’ for pensioners.
And a majority of respondents disagreed with the bumper pay hikes handed to train drivers, by 44 per cent to 42 per cent. The Government handed drivers a 14.25 per cent increase in August, taking their average salary to about £70,000 – only for their Aslef union to announce fresh strikes 48 hours later.
Just 17 per cent say they ‘have high hopes for the Labour Government, and I am sure they are going to do a good job.’ While 76 per cent ‘do not have high hopes’.
Sir Keir came to power vowing to ‘restore trust’ in politics. But revelations about concert tickets, and clothes paid for by Labour donor Lord Alli have dented the PM’s reputation, with his personal ratings plummeting below even that of Rishi Sunak’s before he left office.
Labour declined to comment on the poll.
But a spokesman for No 10 said: ‘The Government is focused on delivery and the action that it takes.’
