Overview

• An Eritrean man was flown from Heathrow to Paris after losing a High Court bid, becoming the second person returned to France under the summer’s ‘one in, one out’ pilot following an Indian national sent back a day earlier.
• Roughly 31,000 people have crossed the Channel this year, with AFP reporters witnessing active smuggling operations on northern French beaches as dozens boarded boats during calmer weather.
• President Donald Trump urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “call out the military,” while Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the Royal Navy can assist Border Force if needed but should remain focused on national defence.
• Former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West said deploying the Navy would make little difference without powers to return boats to France, recalling the limited impact of past naval involvement such as Operation Isotrope.
• Courts are testing removals—one planned flight was halted for trafficking claims and media report around 92 people in detention for potential expulsion—while think tank British Future argues a large scale-up of legal routes and returns could undercut smugglers.