Overview
- Home Office sources confirmed a man sent to France under the exchange has crossed back to the UK and is now in immigration detention, with officials stating re-entrants will be removed.
- Since the pilot began in early August, 42 people have been returned to France and 23 have come to the UK through the linked legal route, against thousands of new small-boat arrivals.
- Migration Watch UK estimates the current removal rate is about 0.55 a day, projecting roughly 297 years to match near-60,000 arrivals since July 2024, a calculation the government rejects.
- The UK border security chief says France’s planned maritime interception rules remain under legal review, constraining at-sea prevention efforts.
- The returned man alleges exploitation by traffickers in northern France, echoing NGO reports of violence and coercion, while France says returnees are accommodated and processed under EU rules.