UK to return a few small boat migrants to France within a few weeks

The UK will start giving back migrants who arrive in small boats to France within a few weeks under a new pilot schedule, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

Under the “One in, one out” deal, some arrivals would be sent back to France and in exchange for this, the UK would accept an equivalent number of asylum seekers, subject to security controls.

Speaking in addition to French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of a three -day state visit, the prime minister said that the plan would show that attempts to cross the channel in small boats would be in vain.

It was reported that the schedule of up to 50 people would be returned a week, but Sir Keir did not confirm any figures.

He said that the “groundbreaking” plan would help to break the model “of the human smugglers, and would be performed if it was successful.

Illegal migration was, he said, “a worldwide crisis, a EU crisis and a crisis for our two nations.”

Since 2018, when figures started to be collected, more than 170,000 people have arrived in the UK in small boats. Figures This year has achieved record levels with almost 20,000 arriving in the first six months of 2025.

Macron said the schedule would have a “deterrent effect” beyond the returned figures.

He added that Brexit had made it harder for the UK to tackle illegal migration, with the argument that the British people “sold a lie … namely that the problem was Europe”.

During the press conference, the two leaders also announced that their countries would do:

• Coordinate their nuclear deterres” Which means that they would jointly mobilize their weapons in the case of an attack
• Strengthen the collaboration at Supercomputers and AI
• “Acceleration and acceleration” collaboration in anti-ship missiles.

Treat some details of the small boats, including how the UK would decide who they return to France, remain unclear, although it is understood that the pilot will start with adults.

Those who live in France, but who want to come to the UK, could show interest in applying for asylum via an online platform.

Priority would be given to those of countries that are most susceptible to human smugglers, as well as to people with links to the UK.

In a statement Released after the press conference, the government said that the agreement would be signed “subject to the completion of prior legal control in full transparency and understanding with the [European] Commission and EU Member States “.

Other EU countries – such as Spain and Italy – can worry that returned migrants can then be sent to them. According to the EU rules, people who are sent back to France should claim asylum in the first European country in which they arrived, often places those limits on the Mediterranean Sea.

Sir Keir said that there was “no silver bullet here, but with a united effort, new tactics and a new level of intention, we can finally turn the tables”.

In addition to the return pilot, he also promised “a harsh” about illegal work, which would ensure that the jobs that human -traders promise to migrants would no longer exist.

The government has said that it has plans to keep illegal working hotspots, such as delivering riders.

Macron said that the two countries would “intensify joint action” in the countries of origin and transit.

Announcement of the pilot, Sir Keir said: “I know some people will still ask, why should we take someone with us – so let me tackle that directly.

“We accept real asylum seekers because it is precisely that we offer a refuge to those who are in the most terrible need.

“But there is also something else, something more practical, that is that we simply cannot solve a challenge, such as stopping the boats by acting alone and telling our allies that we will not play a ball.”

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said that the deal “would only return one to every 17 illegal immigrants arriving”.

“Allowing 94% of illegal immigrants will make no difference and have no deterrent effect.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said that the crossing was “an emergency for national security”.

“To be honest, the French are our money back,” he added in a reference Payments made by the UK To support French police efforts.

He said he did not believe that the pilot would work and said, “If we even try to deport people over the channel, we will enter the European Convention on Human Rights directly.”

John Vine, a former Chief Inspector of Immigration and Borders, told the BBC’s newsnight program that determining the principle that France would take back some illegal migrants, “a first” and “an achievement in itself”.

However, he said that the plan would not reduce the crossings unless the numbers that were returned were “considerable”.

Imran Hussain of the Refugee Council said that it was “good” for the government to look at ways to focus on the operating model of the smugglers and the proposal would also offer a mechanism where families have a safe and legal route to come to the VK from France “.

The Asylum Matters of Charity, however, said: “We don’t need any other expensive, ineffective, dangerous gimmick in Rwanda style.

“It’s incredibly simple: the only way to prevent people from making dangerous journeys is to give them truly safe routes to seek a sanctuary.”

Labor and the previous conservative governments both have difficulty stopping the figures that come to the UK in small boats.

The conservatives had proposed to send arrivals to Rwanda, but the scheme was delayed by legal challenges. The general elections were called before it could be implemented.

One of Sir Keir’s first performance was prime minister to scrap the plan and call it a gimmick.

He said that instead his government would concentrate on tackling the smuggling gangs that organize the crossings.