Overview

• The Home Office is rolling out paid videos and images on YouTube and Facebook in northern France using location and demographic targeting such as sex and nationality.
• The ads, bearing UK and French government seals, warn that people arriving by boat risk expulsion under the new treaty and cannot return to the UK or remain illegally in France.
• Messages are translated into English, French, Pashto, Farsi and Arabic.
• The campaign accompanies a reciprocal transfer pact now in force; Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said initial detentions began in early August and first returns are expected later in September.
• BBC analysis estimates only about one in 17 small‑boat arrivals could be returned—around 2,600 a year—while official data show more than 50,000 crossings since July 2024.