Keir Starmer agrees migrant returns deal with France
Keir Starmer has agreed a “pilot” deal to return illegal migrants to France in an exchange for individuals to arrive as asylum seekers as part of a drive to curb small boat crossings.
In a speech delivered alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, Starmer said the new plan would come into effect in the coming weeks.
Reports in Le Monde newspaper and across UK media have suggested the initial “one-in, one-out” deal will see around 50 migrants sent to France a week, with asylum seekers arriving via legal routes from the continent “subject to strict security checks” and only if those had not tried to enter illegally.
“This will show others trying to make the same journey that it will be in vain, and the jobs they have been promised in the UK will no longer exist because of the nationwide crackdown we’re delivering on illegal working which is on a completely unprecedented scale.
“We accept genuine asylum seekers because it is right that we offer a haven to those in most dire need.
“But there is also something else, something more practical which is that we simply cannot solve a challenge like stopping the boats by acting alone and telling our allies that we won’t play ball.”
The new deal faced widespread opposition from countries within the European Union over fears illegal migrants would cross into Spain or Italy.
But Emmanuel Macron, who claimed “legal verifications” had to take place before the scheme was implemented, said co-operation was key to tackling people’s smuggling gangs.
He also blamed the post-Brexit agreement for failing to secure legal methods for asylum seekers to arrive in the UK.
“I don’t want people to get the idea that we’re not doing our work and we are wasting British money,” Macron said.
“I’d like to remind you that when you put a pound in we put in three euros. We are putting a lot of money into defending the border.”
“The British people were sold a lie that the problem was Europe. By leaving, Brexit became the problem. For the first time in nine years we are bringing an answer.”
Migrant deal effectiveness depends on transfers
Keir Starmer and senior Labour officials say the new deterrent against small boat crossings will help the UK get a grip of small boat crossings.
Small boat crossings at this point in the year are around 50 per cent higher than levels seen last year, according to official data.
Oxford University’s Migration Observatory showed that the number of people being returned to the EU had dropped from 137 in 2020 to 57 in 2024.
Initial analysis on the deal suggested there remained to be questions over the financial cost of sending payments to French forces, with the UK already committing £476m between 2003 and 2026.
“There is some evidence that suggests a returns deal could affect asylum seekers’ decisions to come to the UK from Europe, including in small boats,” researchers said.
“However, the impact could depend a lot on how any deal worked in practice.
“If the risk of being transferred was very small, it is more likely that prospective asylum seekers would not know about the policy or would be willing to take the risk. A similar logic applied to the Rwanda scheme – we would expect to see a deterrent effect only if a sufficiently large proportion of people were affected.”
The costs of small boat crossings emerge in security, legal fees and accommodation in the form of asylum hotels, which has been funded from the budget of overseas development assistance.