Deal to put British boots on French beaches to tackle migrants’ Channel crossings pulled at last minute by Macron

A DEAL to put British boots on French beaches to tackle migrants’ Channel crossings was pulled at the last minute by a peeved Emmanuel Macron.

The agreement appeared to be in the can until Liz Truss refused to say during her leadership campaign in the summer whether France president Mr Macron was a friend or foe of Britain.

The deal collapsed as Mr Macron accused the soon-to-be PM of taking cheap potshots.

But since then, the small boats crisis has worsened — with the number of arrivals this year now close to 40,000.

A source close to the talks said: “It would have been the first time since the Second World War we’d have seen British boots on French soil. But she scuppered it.”

Under the deal, Border Force and other officials would have been stationed in France to try to smash people- ­smuggling gangs.

It was also to include more cash for intelligence sharing and drones.

Mr Macron had been asked to make a statement supporting the £50million agreement.

But after Ms Truss said the jury was still out on whether Mr Macron was friend or foe, he scolded her: “We are heading towards serious problems.”

The pair later agreed to hold a summit — but not to a deal.

Meanwhile, pressure continues to pile on Britain’s creaking asylum system, with up to 4,000 being held for weeks at a centre in Manston, Kent.

Yesterday, policing minister Chris Philp accused migrants complaining about conditions of being cheeky.

He added: “Our asylum accommodation is better than most European countries.”