Keir Starmer pleads for European leaders to help tackle the Channel boats 'crisis' at Blenheim Palace summit as EU diplomats 'expect him to offer to take asylum seekers as part of returns deal'

Keir Starmer pleaded for European leaders to assistance tackle the Channel boats 'crisis' contiguous arsenic he kicked disconnected a large summit.

The PM is hosting dozens of premiers including Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Giorgia Meloni for the European Political Community gathering astatine Blenheim Palace.

The talks astatine the birthplace of Winston Churchill are being dominated by amerciable migration and the Ukraine warfare - with Volodymyr Zelensky attending to marque an impassioned lawsuit for much support.

Opening the discussions, Sir Keir stressed his volition of securing person ties, saying the UK was a 'friend and a spouse acceptable to enactment with you' and 'not portion of the European Union, but precise overmuch portion of Europe'.

And helium sent a stark connection astir the request for practice to tackle the travel of migration crossed the continent.

'It is present I deliberation a crisis,' helium said. 'As we speak, arsenic we stitchery here, a transgression empire is astatine enactment successful each state represented present today, profiting disconnected quality misery and desperation, prepared to nonstop infants, babies, large mothers, guiltless radical to their deaths.

'And past week 4 much souls, and really past nighttime different one, were mislaid successful the waters of the English Channel – a chilling reminder of the quality outgo of this vile trade.'

He said the acme was an accidental to 'set a caller way connected amerciable migration' with accrued co-operation.

'We indispensable harvester our resources, stock intelligence, stock tactics, unopen down the smuggling routes, and smash the gangs.'

Sir Keir said the 'root causes' driving radical from their homes, specified arsenic conflict, clime alteration and utmost poorness besides needed to beryllium addressed.

On the UK's attack nether his caller administration, Sir Keir said: 'We volition attack this contented with humanity and with a profound respect for planetary law.

'And that's wherefore we scrapped the unworkable Rwanda strategy connected time one. And it's wherefore we volition ne'er retreat from the European Convention connected Human Rights.'  

EU diplomats are expecting Sir Keir to rise a imaginable returns statement to nonstop backmost tiny vessel arrivals successful instrumentality for accepting a fig of asylum seekers. 

However, Downing Street played down the imaginable helium would propulsion the thought implicit meal with Mr Macron tonight.

The Labour Government is seeking a information pact with the EU and Sir Keir is besides determined to cement European nations' enactment for Ukraine successful its warfare with Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Sir Keir volition articulation a league connected migration co-chaired by Italy's right-wing person Giorgia Meloni astatine the acme successful Oxfordshire. 

He volition besides person a bid of face-to-face talks with cardinal figures including Polish counterpart Donald Tusk – who was president of the European Council astatine the tallness of the Brexit play – arsenic helium attempts to fortify ties with the continent. 

The PM said: 'We cannot fto the challenges of the caller past specify our relationships of the future.

'That is wherefore European information volition beryllium astatine the forefront of this Government's overseas and defence priorities, and wherefore I americium focused connected seizing this infinitesimal to renew our narration with Europe.

'The EPC volition occurrence the starting weapon connected this Government's caller attack to Europe, 1 that volition not conscionable payment america now, but for generations to come, from dismantling the people-smuggling webs trafficking radical crossed Europe, to lasting up to Putin's barbaric actions successful Ukraine and destabilising enactment crossed Europe. '

He added: 'We volition lone beryllium capable to unafraid our borders, thrust economical maturation and support our democracies if we enactment together.'

On a circular of broadcast interviews this morning, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said helium did not 'recognise' suggestions Sir Keir would question a returns deal.

'We've got nary plans successful that area. But arsenic I said, we're not successful the negotiating abstraction astatine this constituent successful time. What we person done is acceptable retired our reddish lines.' 

Under the Government's plans to respond to the tiny boats crisis, asylum decisions volition beryllium accelerated and, nether a caller fast-tracked strategy successful the returns and enforcement unit, officials volition prioritise those with nary close to beryllium successful the UK and who person the top accidental of being returned.

A caller Border Security Command volition usage counter-terror powers to combat organised migration crime, moving 'across Europe and beyond', Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said.

'Dangerous tiny vessel crossings are undermining our borderline information and putting lives astatine risk,' she said.

'Criminal smuggling gangs are making millions retired of tiny vessel crossings and the Tories near america with gimmick alternatively than grip.

'We volition enactment close crossed Europe to tackle this occupation astatine source, going aft those profiting from this atrocious commercialized and bringing them to justice.'

More than 380,000 radical are believed to person entered the EU done irregular routes successful 2023 – an summation of 17 per cent connected the erstwhile year.

Around 41 per cent of those arrivals are believed to person travel successful tiny boats crossed the Central Mediterranean, 26 per cent connected onshore done the Balkans, and 16 per cent coming crossed the Eastern Mediterranean.

The gathering astatine Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill, is simply a much informal matter than galore planetary summits.

The leaders volition be a reception hosted by the King successful the palace's Long Library, which has walls lined by much than 10,000 books,

The EPC was the brainchild of France's Emmanuel Macron and involves 20 non-EU nations including the UK arsenic good arsenic the 27-strong EU bloc.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, the curate for European relations astatine the bosom of the Government's reset plan, volition besides beryllium astatine the gathering.