The Home Office has extended a controversial pilot scheme aimed at deterring small boat crossings in the English Channel, despite criticism from asylum seekers and campaigners. The 'one in, one out' agreement, signed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron in July last year, was due to end on 11 June but has now been extended until 1 October, according to Home Office sources.
Under the scheme, one asylum seeker who arrives in the UK via small boat is forcibly returned to France in exchange for another asylum seeker in France who has not attempted to cross the Channel being brought to the UK legally. The Home Office says the aim is to deter crossings and disrupt people-smuggling gangs. Since the deal was signed, thousands have continued to cross, and smugglers have adapted by launching more vessels from Belgium and offering lorry journeys to bypass police.
As of 28 April, 605 people have been returned to France and 581 have come to the UK under the scheme. The number of Channel crossings so far this year has fallen by about a third compared with the same period last year, though this is partly attributed to windy weather making crossings dangerous.
Asylum seekers expressed dismay at the extension. One person returned to France said: 'Extending this decision won’t stop refugees from coming. As we’ve seen the small boats are continuing.' Another asylum seeker, who was detained under the scheme but later released, said many sent back to France have 'disappeared' fearing being sent to Bulgaria, where they were fingerprinted.
Griff Ferris of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants called the scheme 'state-sanctioned human trafficking' and urged the government and airlines to end 'these inhumane and racist deportations'. A Home Office spokesperson defended the policy, stating that over 600 illegal migrants have been deported under the returns agreement, contributing to nearly 60,000 returns since July 2024, a 31% increase on the previous 19 months.
