UK, France agree to 'one in, one out' migrant deal to curb sea crossings

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer sealed a “one in, one out” migrant returns deal with French President Emmanuel Macron as they attempt to slash the number of people crossing the English Channel on dangerous small boats. 

Under the pilot program announced Thursday by Starmer, the UK will return a number of cross-channel migrants each week to France, with Britain accepting the same number of asylum seekers from France who have connections to the UK.  While the British premier didn’t state the scale of the plan, UK and French media have reported that initially, it will cover about 50 returns a week. 

With record numbers of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats this year more than 21,000 have done so through this week Starmer is under pressure to rein in the numbers. The aim is for the deal with France to begin to make a dent on that and crucially it will serve as a deterrent to those seeking to make the crossing. It’s the first time France has agreed to take back small boat migrants since their numbers started increasing in 2018. 

“For the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order,” Starmer said, speaking alongside Macron at the end of the French president’s three-day state visit to the UK, during which the two leaders have also discussed nuclear cooperation, defense agreements and their support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.