The home secretary has hailed the ‘milestone’ of more than 100 migrants being returned under the government’s ‘one in, one out’ deal.
Shabana Mahmood said 113 people who arrived by small boat have been
deported in two months, with 84 arriving here by legal routes in return so far.
The deal, which was announced by Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron in the summer, aims to deter anyone thinking about making the perilous journey across the English Channel, by introducing the risk they will simply end up back where they just left.
However, more than 8,000 people have arrived in the country on small boats since the first person was flown back took place on September 18.
And there have been two high-profile incidents of people making the crossing for a second time after being returned to France.
The latest figures, shared exclusively with Metro, show the total number of migrants sent back under the scheme hitting three figures for the first time, with 13 flights taking off so far and more set up for the coming weeks.
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Mahmood said the latest ‘milestone’ should send the message to those crossing in small boats: ‘If you enter the UK illegally, we will remove you as quickly as possible’.
She added: ‘We are ramping up action to tackle these unacceptable crossings and remove and deport those with no right to be here.
‘We want to go further and faster to scale up these removals, but this shows our scheme is working. I will do whatever it takes to secure our borders.’
Migration Minister Mike Tapp told Metro the 113 people deported so far represent the early stages of a pilot scheme that will grow as legal issues are ‘ironed out’.
The Dover and Deal MP also said that more than 35,000 people had been deported and removed from the UK in the meantime.
He said: ‘What it does is it starts to seed that doubt into the migrants who are looking to cross that they might be spending up to £10,000 to then be immediately removed.
‘And as it grows further, the deterrence will also grow.’
Tapp said it was ‘difficult to say at this moment in time’ what deterrent effect the scheme was having, ‘because of course, people are still crossing’.
However, he continued: ‘As we continue to deport more and remove more, and people are returned almost immediately back to France, then we will see it having a deterrent effect.
‘But also we’ll see more measures coming out from the Home Office to make it less attractive to come here and people easier to deport.’
The 84 people who have arrived in the UK have come from places such as Vietnam, Afghanistan and Syria, Tapp said.
They speak with French officials who assess whether their claim for asylum is genuine, before being brought over for assessment by the British asylum system.
The current total of 113 does not include the man who was returned to France under the scheme on October 16 and took a small boat back to the UK on November 9.
He was the second person to repeat the journey after their initial deportation.
The first, an Iranian man, arrived back on British shores on October 18 and was removed for a second time last week.
Mahmood said: ‘Anyone looking to return to the UK after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money.
‘The two individuals who tried were detected by biometrics, detained immediately and their cases expedited. One has been returned to France already and the other will be removed as quickly as possible.’
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the latest figures mean just 0.6% of small boat arrivals since the announcement of the deal in the summer have been sent back to France, adding: ‘No one can call that a deterrent with a straight face.’
He continued: ‘This is what happens when a government of human rights lawyers tries to run a border.
‘Keir Starmer and [attorney general] Lord Hermer built their careers defending open borders. They don’t have the backbone to stop illegal immigration or the conviction to protect our country.’
Mahmood is preparing to outline measures described by her department as the ‘most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in modern times’.
The Home Secretary will reportedly be taking inspiration from the model used by the Danish government, which turns away around 95% of asylum seekers.
Those who are accepted are granted a revocable temporary visa, on the proviso they can be returned to their home nation if it is later deemed safe enough.
Mike Tapp said he would not ‘steal Shabana’s thunder’ by revealing what new measures will be announced.
But he said: ‘For far too long, we’ve seen migrants asylum shopping and looking for that soft touch – that’s going to end.
‘We’re going to make it less attractive to come here and ensure that it’s easier to remove and deport people through legal challenges, so looking at the ECHR and modern slavery laws.’
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