The UK government’s new “one in, one out” migrant deportation scheme is facing criticism after only three migrants were returned to France in its first week, despite plans to remove at least ten. Legal challenges frustrated the Home Office’s efforts, while a scheduled reciprocal flight bringing asylum seekers from France to Britain was cancelled without explanation. Officials described it only as an “operational decision,” adding the flight would go ahead next week.
One of those deported was an Iranian man who boarded an Air France flight to Paris after failing to lodge any legal claims. Another, an Eritrean migrant, lost a last-minute bid to block removal. Both men expressed uncertainty about their future in France, with the Eritrean migrant saying he may return home after fleeing conscription in 2019.
The small number of deportations contrasts starkly with the hundreds who crossed the Channel in small boats this week, following a break in bad weather. These crossings pushed the total number of arrivals this year to more than 31,000 — the highest on record.
Rob Lawrie, a former soldier and aid worker who co-presents the To Catch a Scorpion podcast, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that smugglers remain confident the UK cannot undermine their business. He quoted a smuggler in Germany as saying: “The UK would need to be sending back at least 2,000 people a week, and even if the UK sent 2,000 people back, we could send 2,000 a day.”
The same network is reportedly preparing to use larger 18-metre boats to carry even more migrants across the Channel. Current Home Office figures show that the average vessel arriving in the UK carries about 65 people.
Meanwhile, Times UK reports that Britain is engaged in confidential talks with at least 15 other European governments about limiting the power of the European Court of Human Rights. Diplomatic sources say the discussions aim to prevent judges in Strasbourg from blocking deportations of illegal migrants and foreign criminals.
The debate over enforcement has sparked political division. The government has rejected calls — including those from former US President Donald Trump — to use the military to deter crossings. A Home Office source argued that naval intervention would either push boats into French waters, risking diplomatic fallout, or require sinking them, which was described as “unconscionable.”
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the removal of just three migrants made a “mockery” of the scheme unveiled by Sir Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron in July. “Hundreds of illegal immigrants crossed the Channel today alone and Labour want applause for removing just three, all of whom will be replaced,” he said.
Further Tory infighting over migration policy has emerged, with Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, attacking Boris Johnson’s points-based migration system as “the worst public policy decision in my lifetime.” Speaking to The Times, Jenrick warned its consequences would “cast a long shadow” over both the UK and the Conservative Party.
