Overview

• Home Office adverts on YouTube and Facebook target users in northern France by location, nationality and gender, warning that illegal small‑boat arrivals risk being sent back to France.
• The messages run in French as well as languages including Arabic, Farsi and Pashto, and link to official websites explaining the returns pilot and risks promoted by smugglers.
• French approval was required to run the ads in France, a shift from earlier refusals to allow UK messaging related to the Rwanda policy.
• Downing Street says it expects returns later this month, though ministers note ongoing legal challenges; more than 100 recent arrivals have been detained but none have been returned under the deal.
• The CPS says it has received intelligence that some children are being sedated before crossings, intensifying enforcement efforts as total Channel arrivals this year top 29,000.