UK ready to return migrants to France as 'one-in, one-out' deal comes into force

The detention of migrants arriving in the UK on small boats is set to begin after a deal with France was ratified.

The agreement, which has now been approved by the European Commission, means the UK will be able to send migrants back to France in exchange for asylum seekers with ties to Britain on a “one-in, one-out” basis.

Under the terms of the agreement, announced during French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit last month, adults arriving on small boats will face being returned to France if their asylum claim is inadmissible.

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Anyone arriving in a small boat can be detained immediately and space has been set aside at immigration removal centres in the expectation that detentions will begin within days.

The agreement is the first time that France has agreed to take back migrants since they began arriving by small boats in significant numbers around six years ago.

Along with tackling the criminal gangs themselves, the deal is now one of the two central planks of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to reduce the number of migrants arriving in small boats.

Mr Starmer said ratification of the treaty will “send a clear message – if you come here illegally on a small boat you will face being sent back to France”.

He said the deal was “the product of months of grown-up diplomacy delivering real results for British people”.

Ratification of the deal comes as both the UK and France battle to bring the small boats problem under control, with 2025 on course to be a record year for crossings.

The Home Office this week announced it was providing another £100 million to tackle people smuggling. The funding includes 300 new National Crime Agency officers to go after criminal gangs in places including Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Ministers have also launched a crackdown on illegal working in an effort to reduce the “pull factors” said to be encouraging people to make the journey. The measures include an agreement with food delivery companies Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat to crack down on asylum seekers illegally working for them.

The UK also hopes greater co-operation from the French authorities will allow police to intercept boats while they are in shallow coastal waters, deterring migrants from getting on board.

But Home Secretary Yvette Cooper would not be drawn on questions about numbers for the “one-in, one-out” agreement and told the BBC that the government has “never claimed that there is a single silver bullet on this”.

“Of course, it will start with lower numbers and then build, but we want to be able to expand it,” she said. “We want to be able to increase the number of people returned through this programme.”

Ms Cooper said providing numbers would allow gangs “operational information” that would enable them to work around the new measures.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the agreement will “prevent the tragedy” of migrants dying in boats in the English Channel.

“It establishes an experimental mechanism with a clear objective – to dismantle the smuggling networks. I reaffirm France’s determination to stop the flows and save lives.”

The agreement with France succeeds the plan by the previous Conservative government to send migrants to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed. The scheme was blocked by the UK Supreme Court and was ditched when Labour came to power last year.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp attacked the new plan, saying it would return “just 6 per cent of illegal arrivals” and “make no difference whatsoever”.

“The Rwanda removals deterrent, under which 100 per cent of illegal arrivals would be removed, was ready to go last summer but Labour cancelled it just days before it was due to start with no proper replacement plan,” he said.

“As a result, this year so far has been the worst ever for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel.

“Only removing all illegal immigrants upon arrival will provide the necessary deterrent to stop the crossings. This is the Conservative plan, but Labour is too weak to implement it and as a result they have lost control of our borders.”