A second person who was removed to France under the government’s “one in, one out” deal has returned to the UK, the Home Office has confirmed.
The unnamed man arrived back in the UK after joining nearly 400 people who crossed the Channel in small boats on Sunday.
The Home Office said the person, whose age and nationality are yet to be disclosed, was detected by biometrics as one of the 94 people who had been removed from Britain under the UK-France treaty over the past two months.
He was detained immediately and the department said he would be taken back to France “as quickly as possible”.
The man is the second person to have returned to the UK after being removed to France, following the arrival of an Iranian man on 18 October, as disclosed by the Guardian.
He returned on a small boat less than a month after being one of the first to be removed to France under the deal.
Confirming the detection of the second arrival in the UK, a Home Office spokesperson said: “Anyone looking to return to the UK after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money.
“This individual was detected by biometrics and detained immediately. His case will be expedited, and he will be returned to France as quickly as possible. The message is clear: if you try to return to the UK you will be sent back. We will do whatever it takes to scale up removals of illegal migrants and secure our borders.”
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the government was “mired in migrant chaos and has clearly lost control of our borders”.
He added: “Since the French returns deal was announced, only a handful of illegal immigrants have been returned to France while around 20,000 have arrived here – 99.5% are being allowed to stay and only 0.5% returned to France. This will clearly have no deterrent effect whatsoever.”
The Home Office has not yet confirmed the total number of people who arrived on Sunday but it was estimated to be nearly 400.
They followed 1,772 who crossed in 25 boats on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as people smugglers took advantage of calmer conditions in the Channel.
Under the “one in, one out” scheme, British officials are detaining some of those who cross the Channel and sending them back to France. In return for each person removed, the UK is taking an asylum seeker in France who can show they have family connections in Britain.
The deal was announced in July by Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron. Speaking at a joint press conference, the prime minister said: “There is no silver bullet here, but with a united effort, new tactics and a new level of intent, we can finally turn the tables.”
