Britain's 'one in, one out' migrant deal with France scrapped
The pilot scheme is "no longer processing new cases", the Home Office has said
The government's "one in, one out deal" migrant deal with France has been scrapped.
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The agreement, introduced in August 2025, permitted the UK to return some small boat arrivals while agreeing to take in the same number of people from France.
The Home Office said the pilot scheme is “no longer processing new cases”, after France reportedly demanded a Europe-wide deal instead.
A spokesperson said: "We continue to work with France to relentlessly tackle small boat crossings, and we’ve made real progress."
Read more: Six men guilty of manslaughter after 'deadliest small boat Channel crossing' killed over 30 migrants
As part of the deal, some 1,117 asylum seekers came to Britain from France from August 2025 to June 2026 while slightly fewer (1,087) were deported, according to Home Office data.
Deportation flights will continue in the coming weeks for those who have already been detained.
The Home Office statement added "Numbers are significantly down on last year and crossings this summer were the lowest in six years.
"The Government’s pilot with France to remove asylum seekers in exchange for an equal number of legal migrants is no longer processing new cases.
"However, flights will continue over the coming weeks to swiftly remove small boat migrants from the UK, and we will use lessons learned from the pilot to accelerate efforts to return small boat migrants with no right to remain in the UK."
Speaking to LBC last week, Education Secretary Lucy Powell defended the government's approach to stopping the boats but suggested the dinghies were coming from a new part of France.
Earlier this month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs that the deal was costing around £56,000 for every migrant sent back to France.
Ms Powell said: "We've absolutely got to have the same kind of stringent approach, no matter which part of the coast these boats are coming.
"We have seen a significant reduction in the number of people coming across the Channel in small boats, a significant reduction that doesn't get talked about very much.
"Under Shabana Mahmood's watch as Home Secretary, she is determined to continue that reduction so that we can really tackle this issue."
A government source previously told The Guardian that it wanted to see the deal continue, but added it "wasn't the end of the world" if it didn't.
More to follow...