The government’s ‘one in, one out’ swap deal with France has so far returned 75 migrants, while 51 people have arrived in the UK under the scheme.
Under the pilot scheme, enacted in August, the UK returns asylum seekers who cross the English Channel via small boat but accepts in exchange the same number of vetted asylum seekers who have come via legal means.
The UK made the first removals in September, and on Friday said it had deported 20 more people on a flight this week and 13 last week.
The government says its scheme aims to deter small-boat crossings by threatening those who take the journeys with detention and removal to France.
Seeking asylum via boat is illegal under UK law, although international law states that seeking asylum is a legal right and there should not be any discriminatory distinction as to the method by which people try and flee persecution.
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says the scheme is working so far, and “on course” to achieve the goal of reducing boat crossings.
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But that was undermined last week by reports that an asylum seeker who had been deported to France had returned to the UK on a small boat. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the man’s return to the UK shows the government is “in total chaos”.
He said he was at risk of persecution in France, which was why he had gone back to the UK. Authorities are working to deport him again.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “For many years, illegal migrants entered our country with no consequence.
“These returns send a warning to those considering entering this country illegally: if you come here by small boat, you can be sent back.
“We are scaling up these removals to France and will do whatever it takes to secure our borders.”
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Some 36,954 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since the start of 2025, more than the 36,818 record in the whole of last year. French authorities say they have prevented more than 17,600 attempted crossings.
Amid political pressure over the housing of asylum seekers, Sir Keir’s government announced this week it plans to move people in asylum seeker hotels into military barracks instead.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “A handful of immigrants have now been returned to France through this deal whilst nearly 16,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the Channel since the deal was announced, meaning we have allowed 99.5% to stay.
“This is clearly no deterrent at all.”
