Migrant deported to France returns to UK on small boat

Blow for Starmer and his flagship 'one in, one out' scheme

- MILLIE COOKE KATE DEVLIN

A migrant who was deported to France under the flagship “one in, one out” deal has returned to the UK in a small boat, marking a humiliating blow for Sir Keir Starmer and his pledge to take back control of Britain’s borders.

It comes on the same day that the number of migrant arrivals via the English Channel so far this year passed the total for the whole of 2024, with more than two months of the year still to go.

The man who returned to the UK told The Guardian he is a victim of modern slavery at the hands of smugglers in northern France. Currently being held at an immigration detention centre, the Home Office is looking to expedite his removal. “If I had felt that France was safe for me, I would never have returned to the UK,” he told the newspaper.

"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. When I reached UK the first time and Home Office asked what had happened to me I was crying and couldn’t speak about this because of shame.”