BBC News: The UK will begin returning migrants arriving in small boats to France within weeks under a new pilot scheme, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Under the “one in, one out” deal, some arrivals would be returned to France and in exchange the UK would accept an equivalent number of asylum seekers, subject to security checks.
Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of a three-day state visit, the prime minister said the plan would show that attempts to cross the Channel in small boats would “be in vain”.
It had been reported that the scheme would see up to 50 people a week being returned, but Sir Keir did not confirm any figures.
He said the “ground-breaking” plan would help “break the model” of the people smugglers, and would be ramped up if it was successful.
Illegal migration was, he said, “a global crisis, an EU crisis and a crisis for our two nations”.
Since 2018, when figures began to be gathered, more than 170,000 people have arrived in the UK in small boats. Numbers this year have reached record levels with nearly 20,000 arriving in the first six months of 2025.
Macron said the scheme would have a “deterrent effect” beyond the numbers returned.
He added that Brexit had made it harder for the UK to tackle illegal migration, arguing that the British people were “sold a lie… which is that the problem was Europe”.
During the press conference, the two leaders also announced that their countries would:
Some details of the small boats deal, including how the UK would decide who to send back to France, remain unclear, although it is understood the pilot will start with adults.
Those living in France but wanting to come to the UK would be able to express interest in applying for asylum via an online platform.
Priority would be given to those from countries most prone to people smugglers, as well as to people with links to the UK.
In a statement released after the press conference, the government said the agreement would be signed “subject to completing prior legal scrutiny in full transparency and understanding with the [European] Commission and EU Member states”.
Other EU countries – such as Spain and Italy – may have concerns that returned migrants could then be sent to them. Under EU rules, individuals sent back to France would have to claim asylum in the first European country they arrived in, often places bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
