France refused to take back up to half of the migrants Britain wanted to return under Labour's one-in-one-out deal, it has emerged. The arrangement, announced in 2025, was intended to deter small boat crossings, but France rejected many of the cross-Channel migrants supposed to be sent back to its territory.
The scale of the failure has been revealed by John Tuckett, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. He said Paris hid behind data protection rules to avoid giving immigration officials the reasons for refusals, leaving the Home Office to waste time preparing returns that France would eventually reject.
Inspector's findings on refusal rates
Mr Tuckett said: "The criteria and basis on which the French authorities accepted or rejected individuals referred under the OUT route were not transparent to UK caseworkers."
He added: "The Agreement requires regular reporting from France on reasons for refusal, but this is anonymised, given various legal restrictions on sharing personal data for the purposes of the Agreement."
"This limited the ability of Home Office officials to manage and improve the process. This is the critical rate-determining step for the OUT route and comes towards the end of the process."
"Further clarity in this area would avoid nugatory effort and resources being spent in preparing cohorts where the refusal rate has been as high as 50%."
Returns figures and target shortfall
Under the scheme, 1,631 migrants were returned, while Britain accepted 1,496. Officials privately hoped to remove 100 people a week by May, but the Home Office never hit that number.
Mr Tuckett said: "A 'roadmap to 100' delivery plan started in February 2026 anticipated 100 returns per week from mid-May, sustaining that number for four weeks."
"In early May 2026, the ramp-up to two charter return flights per week was running approximately two weeks behind schedule, and the pilot had not yet achieved its 100 returns per week target, nor sustained that level for any period."
The arrangement ended in October because France refused to sign a new agreement, insisting instead that Downing Street should sign a pact with the EU as a whole.
Recent Channel crossings
The inspector's report comes after 21 people successfully crossed the Channel without being intercepted, reaching the Kent coast. It is the third such incident this year, prompting renewed fears over Britain's border security. The cohort arrived at Samphire Hoe, Kent, and were met by officers.
