Anglo-French talks over migration deal hanging in balance | Immigration and asylum

Anglo-French talks over a migration deal were deadlocked on Wednesday night, with negotiators haggling over how much Britain will pay towards the cost of policing small boat crossings.

Keir Starmer had hoped to be able to announce a returns deal – under which Britain would send back some asylum seekers once they had crossed the Channel – before the conclusion on Thursday of the three-day state visit by the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

But just hours before the start of Thursday’s bilateral summit, aides on both sides said there remained several significant hurdles to a deal, including money, potential legal challenges in France and opposition from other European countries.

One British official said the talks were “complex” and “fluid”, adding that they needed to be…