Another migrant re-enters UK by small boat after being removed to France

Another migrant has re-entered the UK by small boat after being removed to France under the Government’s “one in, one out” returns deal, the Home Office has confirmed.

The man was detained immediately and will be sent back to France “as quickly as possible”, according to officials.

He is the second migrant confirmed to have returned to the UK after being removed to France as part of efforts to deter small boat crossings.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Anyone looking to return to the UK after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money.

“This individual was detected by biometrics and detained immediately. His case will be expedited, and he will be returned to France as quickly as possible.

“The message is clear: if you try to return to the UK you will be sent back. We will do whatever it takes to scale up removals of illegal migrants and secure our borders.”

The move comes after an Iranian man re-entered the UK by small boat on October 18, a month after being removed to France.

He was deported again last Wednesday.

Downing Street insisted that the detection of a second “one in, one out” migrant returning to the UK showed the system was working.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “It is absolutely evidence of the system working. You’ve got a person who’s arrived at the front door, who’s been detected immediately, their journey has been wasted completely.

“They are in line to return to France, just as the previous case was, out of pocket and out of chances, they are destined to go back straight to France and their money spent on this dangerous crossing will have been spent in vain.”

The pilot scheme with France is aimed at deterring migrants from coming to the UK in small boats across the English Channel.

Some 349 people made the journey in five boats on Sunday, according to latest Home Office figures, bringing the total for the year so far to 39,075.

The arrivals have already passed the number for the whole of 2024 (36,816) and 2023 (29,437), but the number is 2% below the total at this point in 2022 (39,929).

As part of the UK-France agreement which came into force in August, 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 apply through a safe and legal route.

Last Wednesday, the Home Office confirmed so far 94 migrants have been returned to France and 57 people have arrived in the UK under the scheme.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said on Monday the deal is “no deterrent at all” and only a “handful” of people have been removed since the deal was announced in the summer.

Reacting to the latest return, he added: “We deport them to France and they’re back before you know it.

“The Channel is now a revolving door for illegal immigration, and Keir Starmer is waving them through with taxpayer-funded hotel keys.

“Only the Conservative Party have a clear, hard-edged BORDERS Plan to restore control. Leave the ECHR, remove all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival, end the merry-go-round of appeals.”