Deportee in 'one in, one out' scheme back in UK

An Iranian man sent back to France under the “one in, one out” scheme has returned to the UK on a small boat, the Guardian has learned.

- Exclusive Diane Taylor

The man, who wants to claim asylum in the UK, and has spoken to the Guardian since coming back, is being held in a UK immigration detention centre and claims to be a victim of modern slavery at the hands of smugglers in northern France.

Home Office sources have confirmed that one person sent to France under the UK-France treaty - which allows the return of people who cross the Channel to Britain in small boats in exchange for bringing the same number from France to the UK via a legal route - is now in the UK.

The revelation emerged on the same day that the total number of people to have crossed the Channel this year exceeded that for 2024.

Last year 36,816 people arrived in the UK via small boats, while as of yesterday 36,886 people have arrived - 70 more than the whole of last year with two months to go.

"If I had felt that France was safe for me I would never have returned to the UK," the man claimed.

He told the Guardian: "When we were returned to France we were taken to a shelter in Paris. I didn't dare to go out because I was afraid for my life. The smugglers are very dangerous. They always carry weapons and knives.

"I fell into the trap of a human trafficking network in the forests of France before I crossed to the UK from France the first time.

"They took me like a worthless object, forced me to work, abused me, and threatened me with a gun and told me I would be killed if I made the slightest protest.