UK to fund £84m health and education projects in Africa and Middle East in bid to stop illegal migration, PM says

The prime minister has announced £84m of new funding for African and Middle Eastern countries in an attempt to tackle the migration crisis “at source”.

Speaking in a press conference at Blenheim Palace, where a raft of leaders have been meeting for a European Political Community (EPC) summit, Sir Keir Starmer said the new money would go towards health and education initiatives.

He added: “We can only make progress on the issues that so many people care about – like illegal migration and national security – if you have the maturity and leadership to reach out to our European friends.

“We are going to deepen our cooperation.”

The prime minister reiterated his election promise to “smash” the people-smuggling gangs.

The UK will also increase its presence at Europol, agree new cooperation arrangements with Slovenia and Slovakia, and share more intelligence with its European partners, he said.

Sir Keir also said the EPC pledged it would stand with Ukraine for “as long as it takes”.

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Sir Keir is under pressure to get a grip on Channel crossings, having pledged in his manifesto to set up a new Border Security Command to tackle the people smuggling trade, using money diverted from the now-scrapped Rwanda scheme.

In a reminder of the stakes, another person died and 71 people were rescued when their dinghy deflated off the coast of northern France as they attempted to make the perilous journey to the UK on Wednesday.

All European countries – barring Russia and Belarus – were invited to the EPC summit, which is intended to galvanise support for Ukraine, where fighting is expected to intensify over the summer.

But for the new Labour government, it was also a chance to forge closer links with the European Union (EU) after the turmoil of the Brexit years.

Sir Keir wants to strike a security pact with the EU and also address some of the trading problems under the current Brexit deal struck by his Conservative predecessors.

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