The UK and France have been forced to rewrite their flagship 'one in, one out' migration treaty after people smugglers began bringing deported migrants back to Britain by lorry, exploiting a loophole in the original agreement.
Under the revised terms, agreed by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, previously deported migrants who return to the UK illegally – regardless of method – can now be sent back to France again. The Home Office has created a new classification of 'returnee case' to close the loophole, according to documents seen by the Times.
Since the treaty came into effect on 6 August last year, the UK has removed 921 small-boat migrants to France – just 3.5% of all such arrivals in that period – while accepting 896 asylum seekers from France under the reciprocal deal. However, at least four individuals deported under the scheme travelled back to the UK by lorry over two weeks in March, following at least two cases in the autumn.
In a letter to Nuñez, Mahmood proposed adding the objective of 'deterring clandestine returns to the UK by individuals previously transferred to France under the agreement'. One returnee told the Guardian that smugglers 'control everything' and forced them back into lorries near a Paris shelter.
The scheme, initially a pilot due to end on 11 June, has been extended until 1 October. Channel crossings have fallen by about a third compared with the same period last year, though officials attribute this partly to weather. The UK and France have also agreed a new £662m deal to curb crossings.
A Home Office spokesperson said: 'Under our returns agreement with France, we have already removed more than 900 illegal migrants from British soil. This contributes to the nearly 70,000 illegal migrants who have been returned from July 2024 to March 31, 2026, up 41% on the 21 months prior.'
