The UK’s one-in-one out returns deal with France is reportedly set to begin in a matter of weeks, as pressure piles on the government to take further action to stop people from making the dangerous journey across the Channel.
The agreement, announced by the prime minister in a joint press conference with Emmanuel Macron last month, means that for each small boat migrant sent back across the English Channel, an asylum seeker will be allowed to enter the UK from France under a legal route.
Sir Keir Starmer said it was a “breakthrough moment” which would “turn the tables” on the people smugglers who bring them here.
Sources told The Times that home secretary Yvette Cooper, will sign a deal on Wednesday meaning that about 50 people a week who enter the UK on small boats can be sent back to France, starting from next month.
Government sources told the newspaper that the signing ceremony was an indication of the endorsement of the deal by the European Union – amid concern that the bloc could oppose the agreement.
Labour has put a pledge to crack down on the number of people coming to the UK on small boats at the centre of its plan for government.
But with boat crossings at a record high, and the asylum backlog still above 75,000, there is mounting pressure on ministers to take more drastic action – pressure which is exacerbated by the success of Reform UK in the polls.
Last week figures showed that the number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel topped 25,000 – the earliest point in a calendar year at which the 25,000 mark has been passed since data on Channel crossings was first reported in 2018
It comes amid escalating protests across the UK opposing the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, with a number of people arrested after a protest outside a hotel in Canary Wharf in London on Sunday.
Protesters jeered at people going in and out of the hotel, and officers were forced to step in after flares were let off in the crowd, the Metropolitan Police said.
A group of people outside the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf were “harassing occupants and staff”, trying to prevent people make deliveries, as well as trying to “breach the fencing and access the hotel”, a statement said.
In recent days, the government has announced further measures to support their crack down on illegal migration, including pouring an extra £100m into their efforts.
The money will support the pilot of the new returns agreement with France, paying for up to 300 more National Crime Agency (NCA) officers and new technology and equipment to step up intelligence-gathering on smuggling gangs.
Meanwhile, anyone who advertises small boat crossings or fake passports on social media could be face up to five years in prison under a new offence to be introduced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
Speaking on Monday, Dame Angela Eagle told Sky News ministers are “doing the detailed work” to bring down the asylum backlog, adding: “We’ve taken 35,000 people off our streets who have no right to be in our country and sent them back to their countries of origin within a year.”
“We are doing all we can to deal with the challenges that the police are facing on the streets to make sure that women and girls are safe, and in fact, that everybody is safe on our streets.”
But as tensions continue to flare over the issue, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said he thinks the “public’s patience has snapped”.
“This is issue is beyond party politics – it is causing immense harm to communities, people’s lives are being wrecked as a result of it, and we simply have to fix it.
“I respect people who are peacefully protesting outside hotels this weekend. I understand why they feel so concerned. They’re seeing their communities damaged”, he added.
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
