UK UK to Begin Sending Migrants Back to France in Days

[CharlieH]

 

BOAT MIGRANTS TO BE SENT STRAIGHT BACK TO FRANCE IN DAYS

New UK-France Deal Kicks Off ‘One In, One Out’ Border Crackdown

The UK will begin rounding up and returning Channel boat migrants to France within days, under a tough new treaty signed off by the EU and French President Emmanuel Macron.

 

The crackdown means those arriving illegally in dinghies or small vessels will be detained and deported under a "one in, one out" pilot scheme — the first of its kind.

The deal, finalised last week by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and her French counterpart Bruno Retailleau, allows Britain to send back up to 50 people a week who crossed from France — while accepting a similar number through a legal and managed route.

 

But there’s a catch for those taking the illegal route — anyone who arrives by boat will be banned from applying through safe channels in the future. And if they try to sneak back in after being deported? They’ll be fast-tracked back out again.

The Home Office says the scheme is now “operationally ready”, with detentions expected to begin within days. Holding centres are already being cleared to make space, and Border Force officers have been trained to identify who’s eligible for return.

 

The move comes as summer crossings peak, with 898 arrivals in a single day on 30 July and over 25,000 so far this year.

Critics, including the Conservatives, have slammed the plan as ineffective — branding it “17 in, one out” due to the sheer volume of arrivals compared to the limited number eligible for return.

Keir Starmer, defending the policy, called it the result of “grown-up diplomacy” and said it would “restore order to our borders” after years of chaos.

 

“The days of gimmicks and broken promises are over,” Starmer said. “We’re delivering real results and going after the vile gangs profiting from human misery.”

Cooper insisted the government had learned lessons from the failed Rwanda scheme and would be ready for any legal fights ahead.

 

“This is about hitting the criminal gangs where it hurts and making it clear that illegal entry will not lead to asylum in the UK,” she said. “We’ll help those in real need — but through proper, legal, managed routes, not chaos in the Channel.”

Nationalities most at risk will be prioritised under the new safe route and subject to full ID, security, and eligibility checks.

The pilot runs until June 2026, after which both countries will decide whether to keep it going.

 

Meanwhile, shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp dismissed the plan as “pointless”, blaming the continued surge in boat crossings on Labour's decision to scrap the Conservatives’ Rwanda deportation programme.

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from AP | The Guardian  2025-08-05

 

 

 

[John Drake]

31 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

The deal, finalised last week by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and her French counterpart Bruno Retailleau, allows Britain to send back up to 50 people a week who crossed from France — while accepting a similar number through a legal and managed route.

 

If I'm the French, I sift through for the worst 50 I can find and send them to the UK.

[Medicine Man]

It is a Gimmick Stammer. We see right through you.

[JonnyF]

"Up to" 50 a week?

 

We're getting more than 10 times that number every DAY.

 

Talk about putting your finger in the dyke.😄

[Chomper Higgot]

8 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

"Up to" 50 a week?

 

We're getting more than 10 times that number every DAY.

 

Talk about putting your finger in the dyke.😄

Nevertheless it’s a start on something that went unaddressed for over a decade.

 

Perhaps working with the EU rather than refusing to do so has its benefits.

 

Please let us know below if you object to immigrants being retuned to France.

[Will B Good]

18 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

"Up to" 50 a week?

 

We're getting more than 10 times that number every DAY.

 

Talk about putting your finger in the dyke.😄

 

Like Rwanda....? but that also spaffed God only knows how much money up the wall.....500 million to ship out three volunteers?

[IvorBiggun2]

3 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Nevertheless it’s a start on something that went unaddressed for over a decade.

It should have started 60+ years ago when Kenya kicked out 70,000 Kenyans and Ugandans. The doors have never closed since.

[proton]

There is about a one million backlog, better get on with it. It's just fake PR of course, they might send a few back, nothing against thousands a month arriving.

[CatCage]

Too little too late! 

[Chomper Higgot]

11 minutes ago, proton said:

There is about a one million backlog, better get on with it. It's just fake PR of course, they might send a few back, nothing against thousands a month arriving.

Who left the backlog?

[Chomper Higgot]

22 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

It should have started 60+ years ago when Kenya kicked out 70,000 Kenyans and Ugandans. The doors have never closed since.

Kenyan Asians were and are absolute boon to the UK.

 

A real integration success story.

 

[JonnyF]

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Nevertheless it’s a start on something that went unaddressed for over a decade.

 

Perhaps working with the EU rather than refusing to do so has its benefits.

 

Please let us know below if you object to immigrants being retuned to France.

 

No. It's a token gesture. A gimmick. An attempt to look like something is being done. A dog and pony show. 

 

If you would like to really see how to handle the immigration problem, I suggest you look across the atlantic to a man named Trump. 

[JonnyF]

1 hour ago, Will B Good said:

 

Like Rwanda....? but that also spaffed God only knows how much money up the wall.....500 million to ship out three volunteers?

 

The lefty do gooders stopped the Rwanda scheme. 

 

Human rights, or something...