Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told Sky News' Kay Burley that Britain has "lived up to its responsibilities" in assisting the French with the English Channel migrant crisis, despite the French claiming the UK never paid a promised £54 million to deal with the record number of crossings.
Asked by Ms Burley why the UK never paid the sum, Mr Raab slammed back insisting the UK does not owe a penny.
He slammed: “I think the French have had plenty of investment! We have lived up to our responsibilities!”
“This is a shared responsibility.”
Mr Raab went on to suggest migrants should be assessed “in the fast country they arrive in” as he appeared to shift the responsibility for the crisis to the continent.
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The Justice Secretary noted how he recognised the French have a problem of migrants crossing into France from both the south and the east of Europe through Belarus.
Despite the tension over migrant responsibility between the UK and France Mr Raab noted how the two countries agree that migrants should be assessed in the first country they arrive in.
But in a veiled jab at French President Emmanuel Macron Mr Raab went on to say the UK should be “mindful” that the upcoming French election may be influencing the French behaviour towards the migrant crisis.
Pulled up on the comments he said that is the “reality” of the crisis and was adamant Macron is playing politics with the crisis.
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Over 24,000 migrants have already made the perilous crossing this year, that is more than three times last year. While around 4,000 have crossed in November alone.
Speaking to reporters in Washington DC Home Secretary Priti Patel accepted the UK is facing a "mass migration crisis" but she also turned the crosshairs on the European Union as she blamed the bloc's internal open borders for allowing millions of illegal migrants to move freely around the bloc.
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It comes as the government has been talking to other nations to see if migrants can be processed in abroad to deter them from heading to France.
Responding to a question from reporters after it was rumoured the UK was reported to be in talks with Albania to carry out migrant checks, she said everything is “on the table” to deal with the issue.
Albanian foreign affairs minister Olta Xha?ka claimed that such an agreement was “fake news”.