Prime Minister Andy Burnham has praised the UK-EU relationship as he holds talks with French President Emmanuel Macron about issues such as small boat crossings in the English Channel, and defence. The pair shook hands and posed for photographs alongside their wives outside 10 Downing Street on Thursday morning. They are discussing "shared challenges" including the rise of "mega dinghies" crossing the Channel illegally, which the Conservatives say shows the UK government has failed to "smash the gangs".
Burnham said it was "so fitting" that Macron was his first overseas visitor in Downing Street since becoming PM in July, describing him as "our nearest neighbour and close friend Emmanuel". "It shows what collaboration can achieve, just as we are also showing on Ukraine, on small boats, and also on strengthening the UK-EU relationship. So I look forward to discussing those themes further with you today," Burnham added.
Macron's visit to the UK was primarily to mark the Bayeux Tapestry's loan to the British Museum. The French leader met King Charles at the museum on Wednesday, ahead of the medieval tapestry going on public display next week. In bilateral talks on Thursday, Burnham and Macron are discussing not just small boats but also the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as defence and EU co-operation.
But the "mega dinghies" crossing the Channel illegally - first seen earlier in August with a 15-metre long vessel carrying a record 230 migrants towards the UK - are arguably the most pressing challenge facing the pair. It follows a summer when the overall number of small boat arrivals in the UK fell to a seven-year low. Between 1 January and 1 September 2026, a total of 16,513 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France.
This was down by 43% on the same period the previous year. These crossings have become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally since 2020. Nearly all those who arrive by small boat claim asylum.
Under international law, this means they are allowed to stay in the country while their asylum application is considered. Small boat arrivals made up 40% of asylum applications between July 2025 to June 2026. Boats that arrived in the UK from 2 September 2025 to 1 September 2026 carried an average of 68 people.
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