The first channel migrants to be deported under the “one in one out” deal agreed by Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron could be removed from the UK on Monday. The asylum seekers who arrived in the country by small boat have been issued with formal removal directions, informing them that they could be removed from the country within five days, the Telegraph reports.
Around 100 people who were detained after illegally entering the country in the fist two weeks of August have had their names and details passed to the French government for approval. The deal, which was agreed during Macron’s State Visit to the UK in July, came into effect last month. It will allow the UK to send back migrants who cross the Channel in small boats, in return for a matching number of asylum seekers with family or other ties to Britain.
Those arriving illegally by boat will face immediate detention under the new powers.
The “one in, one out” agreement with Paris saw the first migrants detained on August 6 and it is understood the first flight could be as early as Monday.
New Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who has been tasked with ramping up the UK’s response to small boat crossings, said this week she expected the returns to begin “imminently”.
Sir Keir previously said the agreement would “send a clear message — if you come here illegally on a small boat, you will face being sent back to France.”
It is expected that the Prime Minister will use the first returns to showcase his government’s action on dealing with the migrant crisis which has seen more than 31,000 people cross the English Channel so far this year, 40% more than had made the journey at the same point last year.
It is the earliest point in a calendar year at which the 30,000 mark has been passed since data on the crossings was first reported in 2018.
More than 50,000 have made the journey since Labour came to power in July 2024, with the issue and the subsequent housing of asylum seekers in hotels continuing to dominate political discourse in the UK.
Government sources confirmed the flights will start this week, the Telegraph reports.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Under the new UK-France treaty, people crossing in small boats can now be detained and removed to France. We expect the first returns to take place imminently.
“Protecting the UK border is our top priority. We will do whatever it takes to restore order to secure our borders.”