The UK government has agreed a deal with Iraq to return illegal migrants as part of wider moves to limit small boat crossings, which have exceeded 28,000 this year and more than 50,000 since the Labour administration came to power.
The deal, signed by Home Office minister Dan Jarvis, will set up a formal process to return Iraqis who have arrived in the UK with no right to stay in the country.
It comes after an £800,000 ($1.07 million) deal last year with Baghdad to help it crack down on smuggling networks and organised crime and the signing this month of a “one in, one out agreement” with France.
The UK is also recruiting hundreds of extra law enforcement officers in a bid to tackle people-smuggling gangs based in the Middle East, including in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, which is seen as a hotbed of smuggling activity. The National Crime Agency will hire an additional 300 officers who will target smuggling kingpins and aim to disrupt their criminal operations across the Middle East, as well as Africa and Europe
Earlier this year, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani agreed to strengthen co-operation on migration.
Mr Jarvis signed the agreement during a visit to the UK by Iraq’s Deputy Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein. The Home Office said the accord would allow the “swift” return of illegal migrants.
He hailed the returns deal as a “positive move” and “part of the jigsaw” to tackle small boat Channel crossings, describing the Iraqi government as a “key strategic ally in our work to combat irregular migration”.
“Everybody has seen the very concerning scenes of significant levels of crossings across the English Channel and we’re working very hard to put a stop to that,” he said.
“The best way to do that is to work upstream of the problem.”
Home Office statistics said since previous deals, the number of Iraqis arriving in the UK by small boat has fallen to 1,900 in the year to March, down from 2,600 in 2024.
“By working together on security, development and migration challenges, we are building stronger relationships that benefit both our countries while tackling shared challenges like organised crime and irregular migration,” Mr Jarvis said.
The returns deal is the latest of the Home Office’s policies to stop small boats crossing the channel.
Similar agreements have already been made with Albania and Vietnam since Labour came to power.
Another deal with France recently came into force, where small boat migrants who have arrived over the English Channel from the French coast can be returned to the country.
The migrants will then be exchanged for a legitimate asylum seeker in France who can demonstrate a genuine family link to the UK. It is hoped it will act as a deterrent to those crossing the Channel.
The latest figures from the Home Office showed 116 migrants arrived aboard two small boats on August 15.
“This visit reinforces the strength of the UK-Iraq partnership and demonstrates our government’s commitment to serious diplomacy that delivers real results,” Mr Jarvis said.
“As someone who served in Iraq, I understand first-hand the importance of building enduring relationships in the region, and the new agreement we have signed is a testament to the trust and co-operation we’ve built with our Iraqi counterparts.”
The announcement was criticised by Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp.
“Over 50,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the Channel in Labour’s short time in power, the worst illegal immigration crisis in our history,” he said.
“Labour has surrendered our borders, and the consequences are being felt in our communities, from rising crime to shocking cases of rape and sexual assault by recent arrivals.
“Now they boast about a measly returns deal with Iraq, but barely any small boat arrivals are Iraqi, and most would qualify for asylum anyway. It’s a sham designed to look tough while crossings keep soaring.
“Labour has scrapped Conservative deterrents and created the conditions for chaos, leaving the British people to foot the bill. Only the Conservatives will stop the crossings and restore control of Britain’s borders.”
People who cross the Channel in small boats are routinely placed in hotels while their asylum claim is processed.
Councils across England are considering launching their own legal action after a district in Essex secured a High Court victory temporarily blocking asylum seekers from being housed in a hotel in the area.
Epping Forest District Council asked a judge to issue an interim injunction stopping migrants from being housed in the Bell Hotel.
The hotel has been at the centre of a series of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker who was staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a girl, 14.
The government spent £5.7 million per day housing asylum seekers between April 2024 and March 2025, down from £8.3 million per day the previous year.
When asked whether the government plans to appeal the Epping Forest decision, Mr Jarvis said: “Well, we’ll see where we get to with that specific decision. We’re looking very closely at it.
“The bigger issue is how we can tackle the asylum backlog. We inherited a very significant backlog from the previous government who effectively stopped processing asylum claims.
“That’s why we rediverted the resources that had been put in place for Rwanda to ensure that we can process asylum claims much more quickly than was previously the case.
“And I think the rate of processing is up by 116 per cent, we’ve returned 35,000 people over the last year who don’t have a right to be here.”
Mr Jarvis said it was a “very specific case” with “a long standing history of concern”.
“This was a very specific case concerning a hotel which, since it opened to accommodate asylum seekers five years ago now, has been the subject to a lot of complaints and protests,” he told Times Radio.
“Indeed, there’s been considerable amount of legal debate about its location and use.
“If you go back to November 2022 when it came into use for the second time as an asylum hotel – I think Robert Jenrick was the minister responsible for that, by the way – the local council at the time said it was planning a legal challenge over whether the local planning regulations had been followed correctly.
“There is quite a long-standing history of concern about this particular hotel, and there’s been consideration of previous legal challenges going all the way back.
“There is a short-term challenge to ensure that those asylum seekers who are here are appropriately accommodated, but of course the bigger-picture challenge is stopping people coming here illegally in the first place.
“We’re looking at a range of different contingency options following from a legal ruling that took place yesterday, and we’ll look closely at what we’re able to do.”
Asked whether other hotels housing asylum seekers have the proper planning permission, Mr Jarvis said: “Well, we’ll see over the next few days and weeks.
“Other local authorities will be considering whether they wish to act in the same way that Epping district council has.
“I think the important point to make is that nobody really thinks that hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers.
“That’s precisely why the government has made a commitment that, by the end of this parliament, we would have phased out the use of them.”
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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SPECS
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Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
4.35pm: Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m; Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
5.10pm: Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Canvassed, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O’Meara
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
7.30pm: Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Final Song, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
THE%20SWIMMERS
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The five pillars of Islam
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 268hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Your Guide to the Home
- Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
- Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
- Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
