The UK and France have revised their 'one in, one out' treaty after discovering that migrants removed to France under the deal were returning to Britain via lorries. The original agreement, signed in July 2024 by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron, allowed the UK to send small boat migrants back to France in exchange for accepting an equal number of asylum seekers from France.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has agreed with French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to amend the treaty so that previously deported migrants who return to the UK illegally, regardless of method, can be sent back to France again. A new classification of 'returnee case' has been created to close the loophole, according to documents disclosed by the Times.
Since the treaty came into effect on 6 August 2024, the UK has removed 921 migrants who arrived on small boats to France, representing 3.5% of all such arrivals in that period. In return, the UK has accepted 896 asylum seekers from France. However, at least four people deported under the scheme travelled back to the UK by lorry over a two-week period in March, following at least two similar cases in the autumn.
In a letter to Nuñez, Mahmood stated: 'I wish to propose an addition to the objectives of the agreement, explicitly adding the objective of deterring clandestine returns to the UK by individuals previously transferred to France under the agreement.' The scheme, initially a pilot due to end on 11 June, has been extended until 1 October.
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.'
