Boris Johnson news – live: Barnier says PM’s letter to Macron ‘provocation’, as Patel barred from France talks

Emmanuel Macron has claimed that a public letter sent by Boris Johnson after 27 people died trying to reach British shores was not a “serious” way of handling the Channel crossings crisis, as France cancelled an emergency meeting with Priti Patel in response.

Labour described the tone of the letter containing proposals to prevent future crossings – and the decision to make it public – “clearly an enormous error”, after French interior minister Gerald Darmanin responded by saying that Ms Patel was “no longer invited” to Sunday’s summit with European ministers.

Former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who is running for the French presidency, described the letter as “frankly inadmissible” and “obviously an additional provocation from Boris Johnson, who is in a state of mind of confrontation on all subjects with the EU”.

Mr Johnson had urged the French president to allow joint patrols on French beaches and more airborne surveillance, while Downing Street rejected campaigners’ pleas for more safe, legal routes for people to seek asylum – fuelling accusations that ministers are effectively “complicit with the people-smugglers”.

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Key Points

• Barnier claims PM’s Macron letter ‘obviously a provocation’

• Priti Patel ‘uninvited’ from Calais summit after PM’s ‘unacceptable’ letter

• Boris Johnson’s proposals to Macron ‘made in good faith’, minister says

• Government accused of being ‘complicit with people smugglers’

07:33 , Andy Gregory

Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of UK politics as ministers grapple with how to stem dangerous Channel crossings after 27 people died in a dinghy accident.

Priti Patel ‘not invited any more’ to Calais summit, France says

08:11 , Andy Gregory

Here’s more on our headline story this morning – France’s inflammatory move to scrap a meeting between Priti Patel and interior minister Gerald Darmanin in Calais.

The prime minister had set out his proposals in a public letter to Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, telling the French president that “we must go further and faster, together” and calling for joint patrols to prevent more boats from leaving French beaches, joint or reciprocal maritime patrols in each other’s territorial waters, and airborne surveillance by manned flights and drones.

Mr Johnson also suggested there could be immediate work on a bilateral returns agreement with France, to allow migrants to be sent back across the Channel, alongside talks to establish a UK-EU returns agreement.

But the French interior minister accused Britain of “bad immigration management”, and France has criticised UK government moves aimed at pushing back boats in the English Channel.

My colleague Adam Forrest has the details of this breaking story here:

France cancels meeting with UK following Boris Johnson letter

Minister ‘hopes France will reconsider’ revoking UK’s invite to Calais meeting

08:24 , Andy Gregory

The transport secretary has said “I hope that the French will reconsider” its decision to revoke Priti Patel’s invite to an emergency summit in Calais, saying it is in the “interests” of France to work with the UK.

Asked about the UK being excluded from the meeting, Grant Shapps told BBC Breakfast: “Quite simply no nation can tackle this alone, I hope that the French will reconsider, it's in our interests, it's in their interests and it's certainly in the interests of people being trafficked to the UK.

“These tragic scenes we’re seeing of people losing their lives, we absolutely need to work together and that's the right thing to do. Let's see what happens, friends and neighbours need to work together, there's no other way to address the problem apart from working together."

Mr Shapps added: “I hope that isn't the end state of it because how can we resolve these problems if we do not work together?”

Government ‘complicit with people smugglers’, expert warns

08:30 , Andy Gregory

As Downing Street rejected pleas for more safe routes for people to claim asylum, the government was accused of being “complicit with the people-smugglers” by relying on security measures which force people into ever more dangerous routes to reach the UK.

Zoe Gardner of the Joint Council for Welfare of Immigrants said the disaster should mark a “point of change” for the government.

“When we try to close down routes for people to seek asylum, all we do is lose control of the situation and hand it over to the smugglers,” she said. This government, this new bill that’s in front of Parliament right now, is complicit with the smugglers who are bringing people across the Channel.

“Now is the time for the government to stop, turn around, completely change their approach, get their head out of the sand and give people ways to travel to the UK for the purpose of seeking asylum safely.”

But Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said the prime minister believed that establishing safe routes for migrants to reach the UK from northern France would simply increase the “pull factor” attracting them to the Channel.

And a government source told The Independent: “It would be completing the smugglers’ job for them, telling them ‘You go ahead and take the money and we’ll look after the most difficult part of the trip for you’.”

Our political editor Andrew Woodock reports:

Government rejects pleas for safe routes to UK for refugees following dinghy disaster

08:36 , Andy Gregory

Wednesday’s disaster led to the deaths of 17 men, seven women and three children – mostly Kurds from Iran and Iraq, French authorities said, with rescuers told that the inflatable dinghy had been struck by a container ship.

People stranded in France don’t know where to turn as they plan for Channel crossing

08:42 , Andy Gregory

People determined to make the crossing to the UK say they do not know where to turn, with available options either “difficult” or “dangerous”, my colleague Zoe Tidman reports from Calais.

People there hoping to one day to reach England told The Independent that those going by lorry often end up being stopped by police but the journey across the Channel by boat feels perilous – especially in the cold weather.

However, they continued to wait for their turn to make the crossing the day after 27 people died when their inflatable dinghy sank. “I’ve got nowhere else to go,” said one man, who fled Sudan years ago.

You can read her full report here:

Migrants in Calais don’t know where to turn as they plan for Channel crossing

PM’s proposals to France ‘made in good faith’, minister says

08:45 , Andy Gregory

Boris Johnson's proposals to French president Emmanuel Macron aimed at stemming Channel crossings had been made in “good faith”, a minister has said.

“I think it is really important that we work hand-in-glove with the French. I don't think there is anything inflammatory to ask for close co-operation with our nearest neighbours,” Grant Shapps told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“The proposal was made in good faith. I can assure our French friends of that and I hope that they will reconsider meeting up to discuss it.”

Letter ‘not designed in any way to be combative’, No 10 officials reportedly say

08:53 , Andy Gregory

Here’s more on the sentiment regarding Boris Johnson’s letter from within Downing Street last night, via Sky News’s political editor:

French anger ‘understandable’ but Paris ‘wrong’ to cancel meeting, former ambassador says

09:01 , Andy Gregory

French anger over Boris Johnson’s letter to Emmanuel Macron is “understandable” – but Paris was “wrong” to revoke Priti Patel’s invitation to an emergency summit in Calais, a former UK ambassador to France has suggested.

Lord Ricketts, who served in the post until January 2016, argued that Sunday’s meeting “will be less useful without the Brits”.

Alongside his comment, he shared this analysis from The Economist’s Paris bureau chief, who suggested that “if you tried to write a letter designed to irritate France, this would be it”.

09:11 , Andy Gregory

Here’s more details from the prime minister’s letter to Emmanuel Macron:

He had proposed that:

• Joint patrols would prevent more boats from leaving French beaches, with the UK “ready to begin such patrols from the start of next week, and to scale up thereafter”.

• Advanced technology such as sensors and radar could be deployed to track people and trafficking gangs.

• There could be joint or reciprocal maritime patrols in each other's territorial waters and airborne surveillance by manned flights and drones.

• The work of the Joint Intelligence Cell should be improved with better real-time intelligence sharing to deliver more arrests and prosecutions on both sides of the Channel.

• There should be immediate work on a bilateral returns agreement with France, to allow people to be sent back across the Channel, alongside talks to establish a UK-EU returns agreement.

“In particular, I welcome the fact that the Home Secretary will be invited to Calais this Sunday to meet her counterparts from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany,” Mr Johnson had written.

“I stand ready to upgrade this meeting to a Leaders’ Level Summit or to arrange further bilateral discussion with you or with colleagues.”

New Covid variant ‘could well defeat the vaccine’, cabinet minister warns

09:32 , Andy Gregory

In addition to the further breakdown in relations with France over Channel crossings, Boris Johnson is facing the prospect of another serious development in the pandemic.

After moving South Africa and five other countries onto the travel red list, transport secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC this morning: “We can’t take risks when we see a variant which could well defeat the vaccine – or at least that’s the concern – and we need just a bit of time to check that out.”

Ministers had acted fast to bring in travel changes following an emergency meeting with chief medical officers on Thursday, Mr Shapps said, adding that there was “concern” over the “very fast” spread of the variant, some 60 cases of which have been confirmed in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel.

“The travel ban will slow it down,” Oxford University’s Professor James Naismith said. “It will get here but it will give us a few more weeks.”

New Covid variant ‘could well defeat the vaccine’, minister warns

French fishermen prepare to blockade Channel Tunnel in Brexit protest

09:38 , Andy Gregory

Now back to northern France, where French fishermen are preparing to blockade the Channel Tunnel and major ports today in a protest over post-Brexit fishing rights.

The blockades are expected to hit Saint-Malo on Friday morning before moving on to Calais, the tunnel and finally Ouistreham.

In a statement, the fishermen’s national committee said the action, which will take place over a few hours, was intended to be “symbolic and non-violent” – but any protests could have a major impact on cross-Channel trade and Downing Street urged the French authorities to prevent disruption.

The committee described the protests as a “warning shot” that could lead to further action if the fishermen's demands are not heeded.

A No 10 spokesman said: “We are disappointed by threats of protest activity. It is obviously a matter for the French to ensure that there are no illegal actions and that trade is not affected but we continue to monitor the situation closely.”

‘Turn volume down’ with France, former ambassador urges Whitehall

09:51 , Andy Gregory

A former UK ambassador has urged the government to focus on developing its relationship with France directly, rather than with the “media digest” in mind, suggesting that Boris Johnson’s letter to Emmanuel Macron was written “for the Daily Mail and shared ... with France”.

Tom Fletcher, formerly the ambassador to Beirut, urged officials in Whitehall to “show common cause, turn volume down, build trust, work phones, don’t start day with media digest” and to “work with great UK/French diplomats on practical ideas”.

Tory MP accuses France of ‘petulance’ after meeting cancelled

09:54 , Andy Gregory

Tim Loughton, the Tory MP for East Worthing and Shoreham who sits on the Commons home affairs committee, has accused France of “petulance”.

“The French have got to get real and recognise there are consequences from turning a blind eye rather than stopping the migrant boats at source and those consequences are tragedies like the one 2 days ago,” he tweeted.

“Partnership working is the only way to find a solution not petulance.”

Macron says Boris Johnson not behaving ‘seriously’

10:21 , Andy Gregory

Emmanuel Macron has weighed in on the letter he was sent by Boris Johnson yesterday, describing the prime minister’s apparent attempt at diplomacy as not a “serious” way of handling matters.

“I'm surprised when things are not done seriously, we don't communicate between leaders via tweets or published letters, we are not whistle-blowers,” he said during a joint conference with Italian prime minister Mario Draghi.

Protesting fishermen block British cargo vessel from docking in Brittany

10:26 , Andy Gregory

French fishermen have blocked a British cargo vessel from docking in a Brittany port, in protest at what they say are moves by authorities in London and Jersey to withhold post-Brexit fishing licences.

The fishermen held aloft red flares as they circled their boats outside Saint-Malo to block the Normandy Trader's path – a prelude to a planned blockade later on Friday of Calais and the Channel Tunnel.

Boris Johnson’s letter ‘an enormous error’, says Labour

10:32 , Andy Gregory

Labour has attacked the tone of Boris Johnson’s letter to French president Emmanuel Macron and the decision to make it public, my colleague Adam Forrest reports.

Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds told Times Radio it was “clearly an enormous error”.

“What struck me about the letter was, firstly, the prime minister asking for so many things that should already have been negotiated, like deepening cooperation,” he said. “It also asked for joint patrols on beaches which the French authorities have rejected on previous occasions.”

The Labour frontbencher added: “But clearly the thing that was noticeable about that letter was the way that it was done in public, which now appears to be such a misjudgment.”

Tory MP accuses France of ‘truly childish behaviour'

10:44 , Andy Gregory

Boris Johnson faces legal action over alleged threat to ‘levelling up’ funds

10:51 , Andy Gregory

Away from the Channel crisis for a moment, our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports that Boris Johnson is facing legal action over alleged threats to withhold “levelling up” cash from the constituencies of Tory MPs who refused to back his botched attempt to help Owen Paterson avoid punishment for sleaze.

The Good Law Project described the alleged threats during this month’s Commons vote on the case as the act of “mobsters”, and wrote a letter to levelling up secretary Michael Gove demanding the release of any internal communications, texts or emails relating to them.

In a letter before action, the campaigning legal group – which has also taken cases over alleged misconduct in the award of PPE contracts to Tory contacts – warned Mr Gove that it was ready to go to court. Read more details here:

Boris Johnson faces legal action over alleged threat to ‘levelling up’ funds

‘We would go by boat, even if we died,’ Iranians in Dunkirk tell The Independent

11:17 , Andy Gregory

My colleague Zoe Tidman is in the Dunkirk suburb of Grande-Smythe, close to the location of a camp dismantled 10 days ago by French police on the orders of interior minister Gerald Darmanin.

She has been speaking with a group from Iran who fear they may be executed or imprisoned there for their political and religious beliefs, and are hoping to cross the Channel once the weather improves.

Sheltering from the rain outside a supermarket in severely cold conditions, one of the group told The Independent: “If the weather did not improve for another week, we would go by boat, even if we died.”

“The boat is very dangerous, but we have to go by boat because there is no other way,” my colleague was told.

“Do you really think that someone who does not have a problem can travel thousands of kilometres of dangerous roads? We really have a problem,” said one of the group, which contained a mechanic, a phone repairer, and someone who worked in welding and solar panels – all of whom have spent three days in France.

Another said: “Our problem is to go to a country that has a residence guarantee and France also has relations with Iran. We also want to go to a country that is safe for fear of our lives. Britain is also the best country in this regard.”

Pandemic ‘far from over’ as government mulls more red list additions, Javid says

11:36 , Andy Gregory

Now for a brief update on the newly-emerged “Nu” coronavirus variant – Sajid Javid has been addressing the Commons, warning that “early indications show this variant may be more transmissible than the Delta variant, and current vaccines may be less effective against it.

The health secretary said there are “very live” discussions over the prospect of adding further countries to the red list and that the government won’t hesitate to act if we need to do so”, after travel to six nations was announced yesterday.

“We are going primarily by where the new variant has been detected at this point, and that's been confirmed in two countries in southern Africa – South Africa and Botswana. We've included the four other countries I mentioned earlier in southern Africa as a precaution.”

He added: “This variant is a reminder for all of us that this pandemic is far from over. We must continue to act with caution and do all we can to keep this virus at bay, including once you're eligible getting your booster shot.

“We've already given over 16 million booster shots. The booster jab was already important before we knew about this variant, but now it could not be more important.”

France accuses Boris Johnson of ‘double-speak’

11:43 , Andy Gregory

A French government spokesperson has dismissed Boris Johnson’s calls for a bilateral agreement to return migrants across the Channel as “clearly not what we need to solve this problem”.

Gabriel Attal said Mr Johnson’s letter “doesn't correspond at all” with discussions Mr Macron had with the prime minister when they spoke on Wednesday.

“We are sick of double-speak,” he said.

Opinion | This is the real reason Priti Patel has been barred from France

11:50 , Andy Gregory

Writing for Independent Voices, our associate editor Sean O’Grady argues:

The migrant crisis is bigger than Britain, and indeed bigger than Britain and France. It is precisely the kind of thing that demands action at a supranational scale. This was what was going to be happening over the weekend, when Patel was going to swap ideas and contacts with counterparts from a half dozen other European countries – just like the old days in an EU Council of Ministers meeting.

Sovereignty was to be pooled. If the UK was still an EU member state, the French would not have been able to “disinvite” the British home secretary – she’d have freedom of movement for a start.

Johnson’s pompous attempt at a billet-doux to President Macron was the immediate cause of French irritation, but it is Brexit that has clearly poisoned relations.

You can read his thinking in full here:

This is the real reason Priti Patel has been barred from France | Sean O’Grady

UK ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with Poland against those trying ‘to provoke migrant crisis’, Boris Johnson says

12:02 , Andy Gregory

The UK will stand “should to shoulder” with Poland against those who would “try to provoke a migrant crisis” on its borders, Boris Johnson has said.

Welcoming the Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki to Downing Street, he said: “I think this is an important occasion – and we are very, very grateful to you for visiting us, for coming to Number 10, to London, because this is a moment where we can reaffirm our commitment to the relationship but also to standing shoulder to shoulder with Poland against those who would try to provoke a migrant crisis, for instance, on Polish borders.”

The prime minister’s comments came as Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko – who the EU has accused of deliberately provoking a humanitarian crisis on its easter border – visited a makeshift migrant camp near the Polish frontier, telling them that he would not play politics with their fate.

“If you want to go westwards, we won’t detain you, choke you, beat you,” he said. “It’s up to you. Go through. Go.”

Priti Patel yet to appoint UK borders chief three months after applications closed

12:14 , Andy Gregory

Priti Patel has yet to appoint a director general for Borders and Enforcement – a role aimed at tackling small boat crossings – even though applications for the job closed on 8 August, my colleague Adam Forrest reports.

The Home Office announced in June it was seeking an “engaging and collaborative leader” for the post as part of a planned overhaul in operations, who will be expected to oversee 15,000 civil servants, a budget of £1.28bn and a fleet which includes six coastal patrol vessels and five maritime cutters.

While a Home Office spokesperson said it was “only right” that Ms Patel’s department takes “appropriate time” to find the right person, the i reported that the failure to recruit for the role had been blamed on a “toxic” atmosphere at the Home Office.

Citing Boris Johnson’s decision to stand by Ms Patel over bullying allegations, a source told the newspaper: “There is a big turnover of senior staff as people think if there are no consequences for bad behaviour, they can’t carry on working there.”

Priti Patel yet to appoint borders chief three months after applications closed

Boris Johnson has ‘no regrets’ over tweet which sparked diplomatic row with Macron

12:20 , Andy Gregory

Downing Street has insisted that Boris Johnson does not regret publishing the letter which sparked a diplomatic row with Emmanuel Macron on Twitter.

The prime minister hopes Mr Macron will “reconsider” the decision to withdraw Priti Patel’s invitation to emergency talks on Sunday, a No 10 spokesperson said.

Asked whether the PM now regretted making his proposal public, the No 10 spokesperson replied: “No”, adding that Mr Johnson believed it right to do so because “the public would rightly want to know what we are looking at in terms of trying to solve this problem”.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has the full, breaking story here:

Boris Johnson has ‘no regrets’ over tweet which sparked diplomatic row with Macron

12:36 , Andy Gregory

Our video team has this live footage from Calais, where fishermen are enacting a blockade in protest over post-Brexit fishing licences.

‘Violent’ dispersion of Dunkirk migrant camp has seen living conditions deteriorate, charity worker warns

12:52 , Andy Gregory

My colleague Zoe Tidman is in Dunkirk this morning and has spoken with Anna Richel from Utopia 56, a charity helping migrants, who warns that French authorities’ “violent” dismantling of a camp last week which had been housing a thousand people has seen living conditions deteriorate.

“People were forced to get on a bus to go to centres pretty much everywhere across France. Their equipment was destroyed and stolen,” Ms Richel said. “People got on the bus and didn’t know where they were going. It was very violent as a method.”

Warning that people are having to get their water from a nearby canal, while police continue to carry out evictions, she added: “Now, in the campsite, people are living in even worse conditions compared to what they were in.

“At the moment, access to the new camp is very difficult. It is right next to a road, there is no access to water at the new campsite, for food distribution, it is very complicated. So the condition is awful.”

13:12 , Andy Gregory

Here’s more from Downing Street on today’s spat with France:

A No 10 spokesperson insisted Boris Johnson’s letter to Emmanuel Macron had been sent in a “spirit of partnership and co-operation”, adding: “This is about deepening our existing co-operation and the work that is already being done between our two countries.

“We want to work closely with international partners, obviously including France, on what is a shared issue so that we can find shared solutions.

“We have seen the tragedy that happened earlier this week. As the PM said we need to do more and he has outlined areas in his letter where he believes we can do more to work together.”

Voices | I crossed the Channel last summer – and my family still don’t know if I am alive

13:33 , Andy Gregory

An asylum-seeker whose family were left with no choice but to pay for him to be smuggled from Iran in order to escape persecution has written this harrowing anonymous account of his experiences for Independent Voices:

The smugglers promised my parents to keep their only child safe and said they would take me to the security of Canada. I wanted to be as far away from the dangers I faced as possible. But they were dishonest.

I had to leave Iran on foot to a neighbouring country. They said they had sorted a flight from Turkey to Canada, but the smugglers kept me hostage for six to seven months, demanding more money from my parents to take me to a safe country.

They kept me with them at all times, and would tell me they would just leave me there if that’s what I wanted. But I had no choice as I had no money, no ID or paperwork, so I would be imprisoned if I stayed put along the journey. I never had the option to move on somewhere else and was isolated from my family and anyone else.

I didn’t know I was in France, until I found myself being forced into a boat in Calais. I completely freaked out when I realised what was happening. People talk about it being a “Channel”, but it really is the ocean when you are in it. I have a fear of deep water so I thought something below could take me and bring me down – I was terrified. But I knew then and there it was the only way and I couldn’t go back.

You can read the full account here:

Anonymous: I crossed the Channel last summer – my family don’t know if I am alive

13:44 , Andy Gregory

Here are some additional points from French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal on Boris Johnson’s letter to Emmanuel Macron, via The Telegraph’s political editor:

Channel blockades a ‘warning shot’, French fishermen warn

14:00 , Andy Gregory

The blockades in the Channel today are “a warning shot”, the president of the regional fishing committee, Olivier Lepretre, told reporters in Calais.

“The British have access to the European market, while we do not have access to British waters. This is not normal, the British government must respect the agreement,” the Associated Press reported him as saying.

French fishermen are angry at the British government for not granting more licences to fish in UK waters – and angry at their own government for not doing more to defend them.

PM’s letter was ‘obviously a provocation’, says Barnier

14:06 , Andy Gregory

Former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has backed Emmanuel Macron after the French president rebuked Boris Johnson as “not serious” for issuing a public letter of requests for action over the Channel crisis.

“This is obviously an additional provocation from Boris Johnson, who is in a state of mind of confrontation on all subjects with the EU,” Mr Barnier told French broadcaster LCI.

Mr Barnier – who is running for the French presidency – said the issue of small boat crossings “deserves much more than polemics and confrontations”.

On the PM’s public letter, Mr Barnier said: “I find this frankly absolutely inadmissible. What you don’t need is confrontation, it’s to sit down at the table and find solutions.”

Boris Johnson ‘humiliated’ by Macron, says Labour

14:19 , Andy Gregory

Labour has described the withdrawal of Priti Patel’s invitation to meet her French counterpart following Boris Johnson’s letter to Emmanuel Macron as a “humiliation”, my colleague Adam Forrest reports.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said: “This is a humiliation for a prime minister and home secretary who have completely lost control of the situation in the Channel.

“At the very moment when the prime minister needed to be a statesman, what we have seen is a grave error of judgement in putting this sensitive letter on Twitter – causing our government to be excluded from these vital talks.”

He called on both sides to “sit down together and urgently find solutions”, adding: “This continued blame game is not getting us anywhere.”

Man plans to cross Channel days after ‘getting stuck for five hours on broken boat’

14:37 , Andy Gregory

Our reporter Zoe Tidman is entering the new makeshift camp in the Dunkirk suburb of Grande-Snythe, which has been set up after French police dismantled a previous camp last week.

She has spoken with a Kurdish man from Iraq, who says he has family in the UK and plans to attempt to cross the Channel next week – just days after the engine on the boat he was on broke down, leaving the vessel stranded in the busy shipping lane for five hours until French authorities came to its aid.

Another 22-year-old Iraqi Kurd named Arish described leaving Iraq after his brother died and his shop was destroyed in a bomb. He has tried to cross the Channel by boat three times already – on one occasion the boat broke, on another the engine broke, and on the other they were stopped by police.

He vowed to try to cross again, suggesting that it is a choice between dying in a camp or dying trying to get to England.

Boris Johnson’s publication of letter was ‘irritating’, En Marche politician says

14:49 , Andy Gregory

Bruno Bonnell, an MP representing Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche! party in France, said Boris Johnson's decision to publish his letter to the French president was “irritating”.

Denying that Paris had overreacted to Mr Johnson's tweet, Mr Bonnell told BBC Radio 4’s World At One show: “When you want to open a negotiation, you don't start by putting in writing publicly.

“A negotiation needs to be discreet, to be respectful on both sides and finally to reach conclusions that you publish together. So that's why it is irritating.

“The French authorities were really keen to find ways, and once more Mr Johnson has been trying to take advantage of this dramatic situation to make his point, and point fingers towards the French authorities who would not do – supposedly – their job and would probably get the migrant back if they were not accepted on UK soil, which is not fair and why we are upset.”

Keir Starmer says Jeremy Corbyn may not be allowed to stand as Labour MP at next election

15:09 , Andy Gregory

Moving briefly to some news on the Labour Party – with Keir Starmer commenting that Jeremy Corbyn may not be allowed stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election.

Sir Keir revealed that he has not talked to his predecessor since the damning Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report into antisemitism in the party was published last October. Mr Corbyn’s unapologetic response to the report saw him suspended from Labour. Although he was allowed back as a member, he still sits in parliament as an independent MP.

“He’s not got the whip at the moment – so he’ll be able to run but wouldn’t be able to as a Labour MP,” Sir Keir told BBC’s Political Thinking podcast. Asked if he thought this was likely to remain the case going into the next election, he said: “I don’t know. But at the moment that may be the case.”

Adam Forrest has the details here:

Jeremy Corbyn may not be allowed to stand again as Labour MP, says Keir Starmer

‘No sign’ of drop in Tory ratings reversing, pollster says

15:25 , Andy Gregory

There appears to be “no sign of the drop in Conservative vote intention figures reversing”, a research manager at YouGov has said, warning that, “with another difficult winter ahead, things could get even worse for the government”.

Patrick English suggested that “this has as much to do with the slow-burn, deeper rooted problems that have been building since the summer” – such as inflation and Boris Johnson’s declining personal ratings – “as it does Owen Paterson/second jobs/Peppa Pig”.

Dispatch from Dunkirk: Refugees in France still determined to cross Channel despite risks

15:41 , Andy Gregory

Desperate people in Dunkirk have told The Independent today that they were still prepared to try and get to the UK by sea even if it means they might die, and despite the boat tragedy this week which claimed the lives of 27 people trying to flee to Britain.

As charities warned of worsening conditions for displaced people in the area, a group of Iranian men sheltering from the pouring rain off a main road in Dunkirk’s Grande-Synthe suburb, close to where a large camp – broken up by police last week – used to be, said they would still try to cross the Channel in the next few days.

All had heard about the recent tragedy but were still planning on making the same journey when the weather - currently very cold, windy and wet - improved.

My colleague Zoe Tidman reports from Dunkirk:

‘We have to go, even if we die’: Refugees still determined to cross Channel

Support for Reform UK rises by one point, YouGov finds

16:05 , Andy Gregory

Some conservatives have expressed concern in recent days that perceived inaction in the Channel could fuel a new “Farage-style” party, while Nigel Farage himself claimed to The Telegraph that he had been “approached by several high-ranking donors” asking whether he is “considering getting back into the political arena”.

In response, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey told the Mirror: “The very last thing we need is someone else stoking fears and telling lies about refugees for political gain. There are more than enough already around the Cabinet table.”

It appears the UK public may be largely inclined to agree that Mr Farage’s brand of politics is not the solution. According to YouGov, support for Reform UK – formerly Mr Farage’s Brexit Party – has increased by just one point this week.

Based on polling carried out in the past two days, support for the party sits at six per cent.

16:13 , Andy Gregory

Our reporter Zoe Tidman has this footage of the new makeshift camp in the Dunkirk suburb of Grande-Synthe, which has sprung up after France’s interior minister ordered police to dismantle a camp nearby housing hundreds of people 10 days ago.

Keep scrolling to read more of Zoe’s reporting from northern France today.

Latest on French fishermen’s blockade of ports and Channel Tunnel

16:27 , Rory Sullivan

As we mentioned earlier, French fishermen have been staging blockades at the port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel today in protest at post-Brexit operating licences.

Here’s the latest from Peter Allen and Adam Forrest:

‘Humiliated’ French fishermen block ports and Eurotunnel in row with UK

The migrants who got through the Polish-Belarusian border

16:42 , Rory Sullivan

Boris Johnson held talks today with Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Downing Street, saying the UK stands “shoulder to shoulder” with Poland over the situation on its border with Belarus.

My colleague Beth Trew spoke to two desperate Syrian refugees who recently crossed over into Poland by paying $2,000 (£1,500) to Belarusian soldiers.

The migrants who got through the Polish border, after paying Belarus troops

Home Office vows to proceed with ‘inhumane’ migrant push-backs

16:57 , Rory Sullivan

Let’s now turn back to the British government’s handling of matters closer to home.

The Home Office’s plans to force migrant boats back to France have been criticised even more strongly following the deaths of at least 27 migrants in the Channel on Wednesday.

But the government has vowed to press ahead with the controversial policy. It is unclear if any pushbacks have already occurred, as ministers are refusing to divulge such information.

Our home affairs correspondent Lizzie Dearden has this report:

Home Office refuses to say if ‘inhumane’ migrant boat push-backs have started

Little progress made with Brexit talks on NI

17:17 , Rory Sullivan

Little progress appears to have made during Brexit talks between the UK and the EU today.

European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic met his counterpart, Brexit minister Lord Frost, in London.

Mr Sefcovic said a “decisive push” was still needed, while Mr Frost called the gap between the side’s positions “significant”.

Here are their thoughts:

Tory councillor replaces police commissioner who resigned over Sarah Everard comments

17:38 , Rory Sullivan

A Conservative councillor has been elected as the new North Yorkshire police commissioner, a month after her predecessor stepped down for making “pathetic” comments about Sarah Everard.

Zoe Metcalfe beat the Labour candidate Emma Scott-Spivey, winning the by-election by 41,760 votes to 26,895.

The vote took place because Conservative Philip Allott resigned from the post last month, after he said Ms Evarard should not have “submitted” to arrest by the then police officer Wayne Couzens.

He later acknowledged that his comments were “absolutely ridiculous” and “pathetic”.

Johnson gives Polish PM ‘very odd’ thumb greeting

18:03 , Rory Sullivan

In as unorthodox a greeting as you’re likely to see, Boris Johnson grabbed Poland’s populist prime minister’s thumb outside Downing Street earlier today.

One Downing Street photographer who witnessed the incident said it was “very odd”.

Here’s more on this bizarre story from Jon Stone:

Boris Johnson gives Poland’s populist prime minister ‘very odd’ thumb greeting

PM’s bridge to Northern Ireland should not be built, says rail chief

18:33 , Rory Sullivan

From odd greeting to extravagant proposal..

Boris Johnson’s idea for a bridge to Northern Ireland would cost more than £300bn and should not be built, the chairman of Network Rail has said.

Peter Hendy’s review for the government found that the project “would be impossible to justify” as “the benefits could not possibly outweigh the costs”.

The prime minister had suggested the bridge saying it would improve travel links between different parts of the UK.

Boris Johnson bridge to Northern Ireland would cost over £300bn, review finds