LONDON: A migrant who was previously deported from the UK to France under a bilateral returns agreement has been detained after crossing back into Britain on a small boat, a government source confirmed on Wednesday.
According to The Guardian, the man claimed he did not feel “safe” in France and said he was a victim of modern slavery at the hands of human traffickers.
The deportation occurred under the UK-France “one-in, one-out” agreement, which has been in effect since September.
The deal allows the UK to return small boat arrivals to France if they are deemed ineligible for asylum, particularly those who have passed through a safe country, such as France, before reaching the UK.
In return, the UK agrees to accept an equal number of migrants from France who are more likely to have their asylum claims approved by British authorities.
The man’s re-entry into the UK comes amid reports that the number of migrants arriving in Britain via small boats this year has now exceeded the total number of Channel crossings recorded in 2024.
Both developments are likely to pose a political challenge for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has pledged to reduce migration figures amid growing pressure from the rising hard-right Reform UK party.
According to the BBC, the individual who re-entered the UK is an Iranian national who was deported to France on September 19, during the early days of the returns scheme.
“We will not accept any abuse of our borders, and we will do everything in our power to remove those without the legal right to be here,” a spokesperson from the interior ministry said.
“Individuals who are returned under the (agreement) and subsequently attempt to re-enter the UK illegally will be removed.”
The UK government announced that 16 irregular migrants were returned to France this week under the bilateral agreement, bringing the total number of returns over the past two months to 42.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said in a post on X: “Does that mean we now have to take two people from France to return him? This Labour government is in total chaos: no backbone, no plan and too weak to take the tough decisions to secure our borders.”
Last week, the UK’s border chief expressed frustration that French authorities have not yet been able to deploy tactics to puncture and disable boats carrying asylum seekers in shallow waters.
