British PM Rishi Sunak in Paris to try to get deal to stop migrant boats

March 10 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was in Paris on Friday to try to persuade French President Emmanuel Macron to do more to stop the small boats that are bringing tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Britain's shores each year.

Progress on the issue was at the top of Britain's agenda for the high-level summit, the first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Alongside discussions on deepening the defense partnership between our countries, the leaders will also look at ways to transform our cooperation on issues including tackling illegal migration. This will build on the agreements made in 2022 to make the small boat route across the Channel unviable, save lives and dismantle organized crime groups, while preventing illegal migration further upstream," Number 10 said in a news release.

The agreements on migrants, primarily stepped-up patrols by French police to prevent boats from launching from French beaches, stopped more than 30,500 illegal crossings of the English Channel -- nearly twice as many as in 2021, according to the prime minister's office.

Relations between the two countries have warmed considerably since Sunak came into office in October following a period in which there were a number of disputes after Britain voted to quit the EU in 2016.

"Close neighbors. Great friends. Historic allies," Sunak said in a Twitter post. "It's great to be in Paris."

Friday's meeting comes as Sunak attempts to fulfill a public pledge to stop the small boats -- most of which are operated by people smugglers -- that last year brought 45,755 asylum seekers and migrants from France to Britain.

The prime minister unveiled new legislation Tuesday that would make arriving in Britain in small boats illegal and ban people from claiming asylum as they do at present.

Arrivals would instead be detained and removed to their own country, or a safe third country such as Rwanda with which Britain has a migrant-hosting agreement.

The legislation also permanently bars those who arrive on small boats from entering Britain in the future or applying for British citizenship.

Sunak said his plan would "do what's fair for those at home and those who have a legitimate claim to asylum -- a plan to take back control of our borders once and for all."

"This new law will send a clear signal that if you come to this country illegally, you will be swiftly removed," wrote Sunak. "That's the right and fair thing to do, especially for those who are being exploited by criminal gangs and putting their lives at risk to come here."

Sunak has first, however, to get the legislation through parliament and overcome potential legal challenges from groups arguing it contravenes international law such as the European Convention on Human Rights which Britain has ratified.

The Rwanda policy, which the government attempted to introduce last year, involves a five-year plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing and permits those granted refugee status to apply to settle there. But no-one has been sent there thus far because the policy has been tied up by legal challenges from human rights groups and refugee advocate groups.