A migrant who was deported to France under Britain’s “one-in, one-out” deal has re-entered the UK on a small boat.
It is understood that the man has been detained and the Home Office intends to send him back to France again.
He told the Guardian he was a victim of modern slavery at the hands of smugglers in northern France.
“If I had felt that France was safe for me I would never have returned to the UK,” the man told the newspaper.
“When we were returned to France we were taken to a shelter in Paris. I didn’t dare to go out because I was afraid for my life. The smugglers are very dangerous. They always carry weapons and knives. I fell into the trap of a human trafficking network in the forests of France before I crossed to the UK from France the first time.
“They took me like a worthless object, forced me to work, abused me, and threatened me with a gun and told me I would be killed if I made the slightest protest.
“Every day and every night I was filled with terror and stress. Every day I live in fear and anxiety, every loud noise, every shadow, every strange face scares me.
“When I reached UK the first time and Home Office asked what had happened to me I was crying and couldn’t speak about this because of shame.”
The returns deal struck between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year is aimed at creating a disincentive for the dangerous Channel crossing.
The treaty means people who arrive in the UK by small boat can be detained and returned to France, in exchange for an equivalent number of people who applied through a safe and legal route.
Sir Keir is meeting with Western Balkans leaders on Wednesday as the UK seeks to agree further measures to bring down the number of migrants arriving illegally.
Some 22,000 people were smuggled by gangs last year along routes through the region, which has become increasingly important to tackling illegal migration across Europe.
It comes as Home Office sources told PA and Sky News the number of migrant arrivals in small boats in the UK this year has already exceeded the 36,816 who made the journey in the whole of 2024.
Last year, small boat crossings made up 4% of overall immigration to the UK, but more than 80% of unauthorised arrivals.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We will not accept any abuse of our borders, and we will do everything in our power to remove those without the legal right to be here.
“Individuals who are returned under the pilot and subsequently attempt to re-enter the UK illegally will removed.”
