𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Nigel Farage is set to be snubbed by Emmanuel Macron on his state visit to Britain, according to reports. The French President is due to meet Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey when he travels to the UK this week.

But no meeting is currently planned for the Reform UK leader, GB News reports. Reform has less MPs than the Conservatives and the Lib Dems but the insurgent party is now leading national opinion polls.

Mr Macron and his wife Brigitte will be hosted by the King when they travel to the UK for a state visit tomorrow.

During his stay in Britain, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the French President will hold a Franco-British summit, where tackling migration is set to be a pressing issue. The number of migrants arriving in the UK on small boats surpassed 20,000 for this year last week, the earliest point this has happened in a calendar year since data started being recorded in 2018.

As well as Channel crossings, defence, security and economic growth are among the top issues on the agenda for the meeting, No 10 indicated.

Joint work with the French to tackle migration is “stronger than it has ever been”, Downing Street said, while suggesting further efforts to prevent small boats crossings will be on the agenda for the Franco-British summit.

A No 10 spokesman added: “We very much look forward to welcoming President Macron for a historic state visit this week.

“That relationship is key to a number of issues, and we expect to make good progress on a wide range of priorities, including migration, growth, defence and security, which will deliver on the interests of both the British and the French public.”

Sir Keir and Mr Macron also plan to co-host a meeting of the coalition of the willing, the peacekeeping mission aimed at enforcing a future truce in Ukraine.

Ahead of the visit, the pair spoke over the phone on Saturday, where they said they wanted to make “good progress” on a series of joint issues, including migration.