Emmanuel Macron said British people had been “sold a lie” as he blamed Brexit for the Channel migrant crisis. Mr Macron spoke out as he and Sir Keir Starmer unveiled the ‘one in, one out’ deal aimed at returning Channel migrants to France.

After Mr Macron says small boat crossings have got worse since Brexit because the UK has no migratory agreement with the EU, the Reform UK leader accuses Mr Macron of "arrogance" - and says the UK was struggling with illegal migration even when it was a member of the EU.

Amid continuing tensions among the European powers over how to respond to US President Donald Trump’s zig-zagging policy towards NATO and the Ukraine war, the French president and British prime minister made their latest effort to present an Anglo-French axis.

Yvette Cooper has refused to say whether she agreed with Emmanuel Macron ’s claim that Brexit had made tackling illegal immigration harder. It comes after the French president said voters were “sold a lie” on Brexit when they were told it would “make it possible to fight more effectively against illegal immigration ”.

President Emmanuel Macron has called for Britain and France to move on from Brexit and work “side by side” on issues including migration and defence, declaring “let’s not allow the Channel to grow wider”.

King Charles III will highlight the crucial bonds between the United Kingdom and France in the face of a “multitude of complex threats” as he welcomes President Emmanuel Macron for the first state visit by a European leader since Brexit.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer sealed a “one in, one out” migrant returns deal with French President Emmanuel Macron as they attempt to slash the number of people crossing the English Channel on dangerous small boats.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has refused to say how many migrants would be returned to France under a deal announced last night. Ms Cooper said the figures had not been “fixed” and she would “provide updates as we go” after Sir Keir Starmer hailed the agreement as “ groundbreaking ”.