FIRST SMALL BOAT MIGRANT RETURNED UNDER NEW UK-FRANCE AGREEMENT

Removals of small boat migrants under the UK's landmark migration Treaty with France have begun just weeks after the historic agreement came into force.

A man who arrived in the UK by small boat in August was removed on a commercial flight this morning marking another major step in the government's action to dismantle the criminal networks profiting from human misery.

Further flights are due to take place this week and next week. First arrivals through the new legal route are expected to arrive in the coming days.

The Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the pilot in July and the Treaty came into force last month.

Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said:

"This is an important first step to securing our borders. It sends a message to people crossing in small boats: if you enter the UK illegally, we will seek to remove you.

"I will continue to challenge any last-minute, vexatious attempts to frustrate a removal in the courts.

"The UK will always play its part in helping those genuinely fleeing persecution, but this must be done through safe, legal, and managed routes - not dangerous crossings."

The UK-France treaty, which came into force on 6 August, allows the UK to detain and rapidly remove people who enter illegally via small boats, blocking their access to the UK asylum system and drastically reducing dependence on costly hotel accommodation. In return, the UK will accept an equal number of migrants through a newly established safe and legal route - subject to rigorous documentation, eligibility, and security checks.

The Home Secretary has made clear that the Home Office will robustly defend legal challenges to removal. Today we will lodge an appeal to the Court of Appeal to limit the time the person has to provide evidence for reconsideration.

A rapid review of the modern slavery legislation has commenced to prevent its misuse.

The returns agreement builds on the government's whole-system package of reforms to fix the broken asylum system.

Enforcement is already at record levels. Last year the NCA carried out around 350 disruptions against people-smuggling networks, each of which will have removed, prevented or reduced a criminal threat. This was a 40% increase on the previous year.

Over 35,000 individuals with no legal right to remain in the UK have been returned, up 13% year-on-year.

Returns of foreign criminals and asylum-related returns have risen by 14% and 28% respectively.

The department is now issuing over 31,000 initial asylum decisions every quarter - triple the average under the previous government.