More people have been arrested under the Government’s new migrant returns deal with France, the Home Secretary has confirmed.
Yvette Cooper said on Wednesday that the first referrals for people who came to Britain in small boats to be deported back across the English Channel have already been made.
The cabinet minister was speaking to media for the first time since it was revealed that a record 50,000 migrants have made the dangerous journey since Labour came to power.
Ms Cooper said: "Small boat crossings undermine our border security and put lives at risk.
“We've seen disgraceful scenes of criminal gangs crowding people into these flimsy small boats, making huge profits as they do so."
She added that "more arrests" had been made under the UK-France returns deal on Tuesday,
Under the terms of the “one-in, one-out” agreement, Britain can send some people who illegally crossed the Channel back to France.
But in exchange, the UK must accept an asylum seeker currently living in France who has not attempted the journey and who has a link to Britain.
They are subject to security checks and visa rules, and the British government is covering the costs of both returning each immigrant and bringing successful applicants over.
The first arrests under the scheme were made last week and returns process can take a month.
Exact numbers of how many people are being arrested and returned has not been confirmed by the Home Office.
The Home Secretary also welcomed guidance for the police that has told them to share a criminal suspects ethnicity and nationality with the public.
It comes after authorities were accused of covering up offences carried out by asylum seekers in the wake of riots following the Southport murders, which were partly fuelled disinformation circulating on social media.
Ms Cooper said: "We welcome the guidance because this is a step forward, and we have been clear that we need greater transparency and that's what the public want to see.
"But we have also asked the Law Commission, particularly to look at what information can be released to make sure that we're not also affecting criminal trials that are under way.
"That's where a lot of the restrictions and constraints have been. So we've asked the Law Commission to report, very quickly, this autumn on what more can be done to avoid prejudicing criminal trials."
