International Desk: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday agreed a new pact worth over 500 million euros to stop illegal cross-Channel migration, at a summit in Paris aimed at forging a new start after years of Brexit tensions.

The deal will see Britain step up funding to France to allow hundreds more French police to patrol the Channel and also establish a new detention centre as a further deterrent.

Both leaders hailed a fresh beginning in relations between the two neighbours, after intense talks in Paris which were also marked by expressions of unity in their support for Ukraine in fighting the Russian invasion.

It was the first UK-French summit in five years, after Sunak became prime minister in October following the stormy tenures of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss marked by rancorous relations with Paris.

Macron said his talks with Sunak marked a “new start” while Sunak said it was “a new beginning, our entente renewed”.