Migrant deported to France under returns deal comes back to UK by small boat
A migrant who was deported to France under the “one-in, one-out” deal has re-entered the UK on a small boat.
The man was detained, and it is understood that the Home Office intends to send him back to France for a second time.
He told the Guardian he was a victim of modern slavery at the hands of traffickers in northern France.
“If I had felt that France was safe for me I would never have returned to the UK,” the man told the newspaper.
"When we were returned to France we were taken to a shelter in Paris. I didn’t dare to go out because I was afraid for my life.
"The smugglers are very dangerous. They always carry weapons and knives. I fell into the trap of a human trafficking network in the forests of France before I crossed to the UK from France the first time.
“When I reached UK the first time and Home Office asked what had happened to me I was crying and couldn’t speak about this because of shame.”
The news of this migrant's return to the Britain comes the same day the total number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel passed the figure recorded for the whole of 2024.
The returns deal struck between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year is aimed at creating a disincentive for the dangerous Channel crossing.
The treaty means people who arrive in the UK by small boat can be detained and returned to France, in exchange for an equivalent number of people who applied through a safe and legal route.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We will not accept any abuse of our borders, and we will do everything in our power to remove those without the legal right to be here.
“Individuals who are returned under the pilot and subsequently attempt to re-enter the UK illegally will removed.”
Starmer is meeting with Western Balkans leaders on Wednesday as the UK seeks to agree further measures to bring down the number of migrants arriving illegally.
Around 22,000 people were smuggled by gangs last year along routes through the region, which has become increasingly important to tackling illegal migration across Europe.
Last year, small boat crossings made up 4% of overall immigration to the UK, but more than 80% of unauthorised arrivals.
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On Wednesday morning, a group of migrants were seen boarding a small boat towards the UK at first light leaving many others on the French coast after a dinghy deflated.
A group of men and women carrying some small children were pictured waiting to cross the Channel on Gravelines beach in northern France.
Elsewhere on Gravelines beach, a separate group of roughly 30 people were pictured scrambling aboard a dinghy before it set off across the Channel towards Dover.
French Police vehicles were in the sand dunes trying to search for and deter potential crossings.
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