Fury over Rishi Sunak's £500m migrant payment to France - 'We're being taken for suckers!'
Conservative MPs have blasted Rishi Sunak's deal with France
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Rishi Sunak’s £500million deal with France has sparked fury among Conservative MPs who have questioned the decision ahead of the Budget which expected to see the ongoing financial squeeze on public spending continue.
The Prime Minister claims the deal, which includes a new detention centre in France for migrants found in dangerous small boats trying to get to the UK, will help slash the number of crossings and proves a “sensible investment”.
On Friday, Sunak visited Paris as part of the first Franco-British Summit in five years.
He spoke to President Macron for more than an hour while the two leaders finalised a number of announcements which included the operation on the Channel boats crisis.
The Prime Minister claims the deal will help slash the number of crossings and proves a 'sensible investment'
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It was revealed that Britain would pay €541m (£480m) over the next three years to cover costs of policing the border.
A detention centre near Dunkerque will also be set up to hold illegal migrants before being sent back to the home country, or to the last safe country they travelled through on their way to France.
In addition, British officials will be stationed permanently in France as part of a new “zonal co-ordination centre” in a bid to bring together French and British law enforcement.
Macron has not agreed that France will accept migrants whose asylum claims in the UK are rejected, adding that only a EU-wide deal would be effective.
Several Conservative MPs have complained about the cost of the deal amid the Budget in five days which is expected to confirm an ongoing squeeze on public spending.
“We can continue throwing more money, more kit and more joint intelligence and preferably even more joint patrols on the beaches, but all the time the French refuse to arrest them when they intercept them – so they just intercept the same people the following night with a new boat,” Ex-minister Tim Loughton told the i.
Jonathan Gullis added: “People understandably have major concerns about such a large sum, whilst in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.”
And a former Cabinet minister said: “At a time when we are asking the country to tighten their belts on the one hand, on the other we are forking out serious money to a Western country that can well afford to spend it themselves.
The French Government spends around five times more money as the British scheme, according to Government sources
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“We are being taken for suckers by the French.”
According to Government sources, the French Government is spending around five times more money as the British scheme.
Sunak and Macron also agreed to co-operate more closely on defence and energy policy, including by building more electricity interconnectors under the Channel.
The French President said: “It is a moment of reunion, of reconnection and of a new beginning.”
The Prime Minister responded by praising Macron’s response to the death of Elizabeth II – adding: “I’ve learned very quickly in this job that there are some things you can control and some things you can’t.
“And one thing you can’t control is who you get as an international counterpart. I feel very fortunate to be serving alongside you and incredibly excited about the future we can build together. Merci, mon ami.”