Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed to a reciprocal migrant returns deal that the British prime minister and French president hope will act as a deterrent to small boat crossings in the English Channel.

Sir Keir Starmer said a deal to send small boats migrants back to France for the first time was a “breakthrough moment” which would “turn the tables” on people smugglers. The Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron – who said Brexit had made it harder to deal with illegal migration – hope the deal will have a deterrent effect beyond the limited numbers involved in the pilot scheme.