Foreign secretary had proposed to French president
Downing Street has responded to foreign secretary Boris Johnson floating the idea of Britain and France building a 22-mile bridge across the English Channel, by saying there were no plans for such a project.
Johnson, who had met French president Emmanuel Macron at the Anglo-French summit yesterday, was quoted saying that it was “ridiculous” that two of the world’s biggest economies are “linked by a single railway”.
It is understood that the French president responded positively to the idea saying: “I agree. Let’s do it.”
Asked about the remarks, the prime minister’s spokesman said: “I haven’t seen any plans on that. We are going to have very close ties with France economically, culturally and in areas such as defence and security for many many decades to come.”
“What was agreed yesterday (Thursday) and what the foreign secretary tweeted about as well is a panel of experts who will look at major projects together, including infrastructure. And we want to work very closely with our French colleagues on building a shared, prosperous future.”
A spokesman for Macron confirmed he had had a conversation with Johnson about a bridge and said Macron had told him: “The issue of access is an important one.” But he denied reports the French president had responded with “I agree, let’s do it”.
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