Inside Politics: Johnson and Macron vow further cooperation after Channel tragedy

Pair say they’ve agreed to ‘keep all options on the table’ to tackle crisis but blame game not far from the surface, as London accuses Paris of not doing enough to stop crossings, writes Matt Mathers

Thursday 25 November 2021 08:32 GMT

(PA)

Human tragedy struck in the Channel near Calais yesterday, where 27 people – a child among them – drowned when their dinghy capsized attempting to make the treacherous journey from France to Britain. The loss of life is thought to be the worst-ever migrant disaster in the Channel and one that many observers feared was just around the corner, as record numbers risk their lives in search of a better future. The fall out from the tragedy very quickly turned political, with London and Paris embroiled in a blame game about how to deal with the crisis, while some opposition parties laid the blame squarely at the door at the UK government, who they say must provide safe and legal routes for refugees to find sanctuary. Elsewhere, there are fresh negative briefings against Boris Johnson coming out of Rishi Sunak’s Treasury, the new German government has warned the UK against breaching the Northern Ireland Brexit deal, and parliamentary authorities are reviewing rules after an MP was told she couldn’t take her three-month-old son to a debate.

Inside the bubble

Commons sits from 9.30am with Cabinet Office questions to Steve Barclay, followed by the weekly business statement from Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg. Later any UQs or other statements, followed by the main business – a backbench-led debates on freedom of religion or belief, and on alcohol harm.

Coming up:

– Shadow culture secretary Jo Stevens on Sky News at 8.05am

– Calais MP Pierre-Henri Dumont on BBC Breakfast at 8.10am

Daily Briefing

BLAME GAME: Following an emergency Cobra meeting held in response to the disaster, the prime minister declared himself “shocked, appalled and deeply saddened”. He also accused Paris of not doing enough to stem the flow of people taking to the sea in small boats on the coast of France but vowed to increase the UK’s offer of assistance to its neighbours across the Channel. The row was intensified by images showing French police appearing to do nothing as migrants launched a separate boat into the water. The PM spoke with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, in the evening and a No 10 read out of the conversation said the pair agreed to “keep all options on the table” in their efforts to break up the human trafficking gangs responsible for putting desperate people at risk in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes. Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said that people were dying in the Channel “because of the government’s total failure to get a grip on this crisis” as he called on home secretary Priti Patel to “stop her pointless posturing” and provide safe and legal routes for refugees to find sanctuary. Labour says the tragedy should serve as a wake up call for the government to tackle the crisis. France’s government is to hold crisis talks later today.

NO RESPITE: Johnson’s strife as Tory leader is still very much a live issue, with a disgruntled senior backbencher firing a warning shot at the PM yesterday, saying that he must up his “game” in the new year or face a leadership challenge. “Margaret Thatcher won a thumping majority in 1987, and three years later, she was out,” the backbencher told The Independent. “We Conservatives know how to change our leaders, unlike Labour who wait to lose the election before doing it.” The warning came following the start of another bad week for Johnson, who is still reeling from the fallout from a series of botched political decisions, resulting in reports that a dozen MPs sent letters of no confidence in Johnson to the chair of the powerful backbench 1922 Committee, claims dampened down by Tory whips. The No 10 and No 11 briefing war escalated last night, with allies of Rishi Sunak telling The Times that the chancellor is becoming increasingly frustrated with the PM’s “chaotic” operation. Elsewhere, The Sun reports that cabinet ministers are urging Johnson to sack Liam Booth-Smith, the Sunak aide accused of giving a hostile briefing against No 10 to the BBC in the wake of Johnson’s CBI speech.

GERMAN WARNING: Our old friend Brexit is never far away from the top of the news agenda and concerns around the Northern Ireland protocol have made their way into the headlines via the newly installed government in Germany, which is warning the UK against breaching the terms of the trading arrangements. Germany’s three-way coalition – which has Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats as its head – said it would back “countermeasures” if London fails to honour the deal is signed up to. The warning came after the PM restated his readiness to suspend the deal by invoking Article 16, in a phone call with Irish counterpart Micheal Martin.

RULES REVIEW: Sir Lindsay Hoyle has ordered a review into whether MPs can bring their babies into the chamber, after Labour’s Stella Creasy was told by Commons authorities it was against the rules to bring her three-month-old son to a debate. After the correspondence provoked outrage, the Commons speaker told MPs he was initially unaware of the exchange, but stressed it was “extremely important” that parents of young children could fully participate in parliamentary work. Updating MPs, Sir Lindsay said he had requested that the procedure committee, chaired by former Tory minister Karen Bradley, review the matter and bring forward recommendations for the Commons to vote on. Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, who has previously taken her infant child into the Commons without complaint, was reprimanded after leading a debate on “buy now, pay later” consumer credit schemes on Tuesday with her three-month-old son in a sling.

‘TAKING THE MICK’: The under-fire Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox has been accused of “taking the mick” after appearing on a livestream for duties involving private legal work while parliament was sitting.The former Tory minister, who was accused of breaking Commons rules earlier this month, was taking part in day 55 of the British Virgin Islands Commission of Inquiry – shortly after the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions.

On the record

“I’m afraid it also shows is that the operation that is being conducted by our friends (France)on the beaches, supported as you know with £54 million from the UK to help patrol the beaches, the technical support we’ve been giving, they haven’t been enough. Our offer is to increase our support but also to work together with our partners on the beaches concerned, on the launching grounds for these boats.”

PM says France isn’t doing enough to stop Channel crossings but pledges more support.

From the Twitterati

“Who? Tory grandees coalescing around the idea of a senior MP becoming his second in command. Someone who understands Parliament and also knows Johnson well (there aren’t many). Ben Wallace and Kit Malthouse are two names doing the rounds. The difficulty is persuading Johnson.”