British officials are in talks with the French about a deal that would see one Channel migrant being deported from the UK in return for receiving one migrant from France. 

Under the pilot scheme, Britain would look to accept people who are considered to have a legitimate case for entering the country, such as to reunite with family members. 

Record numbers of small boat migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, with critics insisting Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘smash the gangs’ strategy will fail to stop the influx unless there is a viable deterrent. 

During the general election campaign, Sir Keir said he wanted to strike a returns agreement with the EU, but this has not materialised. 

While the French would prefer a returns deal involving the whole EU, they are said to be willing to test a more limited agreement first. 

Currently, asylum seekers are able to cross the Channel in a small boat to the UK in the knowledge that they are unlikely to ever be deported even if their asylum claim is rejected.   

Indeed, of the 150,000 migrants who have crossed since 2018, three per cent have been deported to their home country. 

A group of small boat migrants are brought into Dover after crossing the Channel yesterday

A group of small boat migrants are brought into Dover after crossing the Channel yesterday

A total of 8,183 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel as of yesterday

A total of 8,183 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel as of yesterday 

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The new proposed one for one swap scheme is expected to involve only a small number of Channel migrants, the Financial Times reported.   

‘We are in early discussions about a scheme that would see a small number of migrants returned to France in exchange for us accepting others, in line with what we have discussed… about prioritising family reunion,’ a British official was quoted as saying. 

Asked about the arrangement this morning, transport minister Lilian Greenwood said that ‘there are discussions ongoing with the French government’, but did not say what a future deal could look like.

She told Sky News: ‘We are absolutely focused on fixing the broken asylum system that we have inherited from the Conservative government.

‘That’s why we’ve got the (Border Security, Asylum and Immigration) Bill currently going through Parliament.

‘We know that we’re only going to be able to fix that… It’s not a short-term issue, this is going to take really hard work to tackle those organised gangs that are preying on people, putting their lives in danger as they try to cross the Channel to the UK.

‘Of course, that’s going to involve conversations with our counterparts on the European continent.’

Pressed on the returns agreement, Ms Greenwood said: ‘I can confirm that there are discussions ongoing with the French government about how we stop this appalling and dangerous trade in people that’s happening across the English Channel.’

Critics insist Sir Keir Starmer's 'smash the gangs' strategy will fail to stop the influx unless there is a viable deterrent

Critics insist Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘smash the gangs’ strategy will fail to stop the influx unless there is a viable deterrent 

She later said that ‘where people don’t have a right to be here, they need to be returned’. 

Speaking to GB News, Ms Greenwood claimed the previous Conservative government’s plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda ‘delivered absolutely nothing but just cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds’.

Asked about there being ‘no deterrent’, she told the broadcaster: ‘We’ve come in, we’ve taken swift action in setting up the Border Security Command.

‘We know that there are organised criminal gangs exploiting people who are absolutely desperate, and we are committed to smashing those gangs.’

A total of 8,183 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel as of yesterday. 

The total figure of crossings this year is already higher than the 7,567 people who crossed the Channel over January, February, March and April in 2024 – at the time, a record number for that period. 

On Saturday, a record 656 migrants were picked up attempting to illegally enter the United Kingdom – the highest number to cross in a single day so far in 2025. 

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A Home Office spokesman said: ‘The prime minister and home secretary have been clear the UK and France must work closely together to prevent dangerous small boat crossings, particularly on vital law enforcement cooperation.

‘We have already secured agreement from the French to deploy a new elite unit of officers at the coast, launch a specialist intelligence unit, increase police numbers and introduce new powers for the French authorities to intervene in shallow waters.’

‘We are intensifying our collaboration with France and other European countries who face the same challenges by exploring fresh and innovative measures to dismantle the business models of the criminal smuggling gangs.’

Last week, a fisherman claimed that French officials were handing out lifejackets to Channel migrants  instead of intercepting and turning them back.

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Matt Coker, owner of Coker Seafishing in Dover, told Times Radio: ‘They’re giving them life jackets now because so many of them are not getting in the boats with life jackets.

‘I suppose… they’re trying to avoid another tragedy. Then they ask for the life jackets back off the British once they’ve picked them up.’

The claim was denied by the French, who said that supplying life jackets to migrants trying to reach Britain would be illegal. 

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