Sir Keir Starmer said a deal to send small boats migrants back to France for the first time was a “breakthrough moment” which would “turn the tables” on people smugglers.
The Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron – who said Brexit had made it harder to deal with illegal migration – hope the deal will have a deterrent effect beyond the limited numbers involved in the pilot scheme.
Under the one in, one out deal, for each small boat migrant sent back across the English Channel an asylum seeker will be allowed to enter the UK from France under a legal route.
No details have been given about how many people will be covered by the scheme, but reports from France have indicated it could initially be limited to around 50 a week – a small fraction of the weekly average this year of 782.
It is understood numbers will grow over the pilot period and depend on operational factors.
Some 21,117 migrants have made the crossing in 2025 according to the latest Home Office figures, a record for this point in a year, with more attempting the journey on Thursday as the UK and French leaders met.
The Prime Minister set out the plan at a joint press conference with Mr Macron at the conclusion of the French leader’s state visit to the UK.
Sir Keir 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.”
The pilot scheme would mean “for the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order”.
It will “show others trying to make the same journey that it will be in vain” and represents “a real breakthrough in the way that we tackle the vile trade of people smuggling”, Sir Keir said.
Under the plan, those in France could express an interest to apply for asylum to the UK through an online platform and would then carry out the standard visa application process and checks.
Priority will be given to people from countries where they are most likely to be granted asylum as genuine refugees, who are most likely to be exploited by smuggling gangs and also asylum seekers who have connections to the UK.
It is not clear what the criteria will be for deciding which small boat migrants will be sent back to France, but it is understood the pilot will start with adults.
This is my message to the people smuggling gangs: we will end your vile trade.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 10, 2025
For the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France.
My government has led the way in taking our countries’ co-operation to a new level. pic.twitter.com/9AufY74T9J
Their removal is expected to be made on the grounds of inadmissibility to stay because they have arrived to the UK from a safe country.
They will be able to challenge the decision if there are exceptional circumstances, however officials believe appeals will not be successful as France is signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights and has an established asylum system.
The Prime Minister also promised a crackdown on illegal working to counter one of the ways the UK is seen as attractive to migrants.
The Prime Minister said the jobs promised to migrants by traffickers “will no longer exist because of the nationwide crackdown we’re delivering on illegal working, which is on a completely unprecedented scale”.
The Government is planning a major nationwide blitz targeting illegal working hotspots, focusing on the gig economy and migrants working as delivery riders.
The move follows Mr Macron’s warnings about the “pull factors” luring people into travelling through Europe to reach the northern French coast in the hope of reaching the UK.
This agreement is a humiliation for Brexit Britain. We have acted today as an EU member and bowed down to an arrogant French President.
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) July 10, 2025
Mr Macron said the deal was part of a “collaborative, cooperative and comprehensive plan”, beginning with work in the countries of origin of the migrants seeking to reach the UK.
He said that voters were “sold a lie” on Brexit and that it would “make it possible to fight more effectively against illegal immigration”.
But because it left the UK without a returns agreement with the EU “it creates an incentive to make the crossing, the precise opposite of what Brexit had promised”.
Opposition politicians were scathing about the Prime Minister’s deal with Mr Macron.
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage, who spent the day on a boat in the English Channel watching migrants making the crossing, said: “This agreement is a humiliation for Brexit Britain.
“We have acted today as an EU member and bowed down to an arrogant French president.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp claimed the deal “will only return one in every 17 illegal immigrants arriving”.
“Allowing 94% of illegal immigrants to stay will make no difference whatsoever and have no deterrent effect,” he said.
“This is the latest catastrophic example that when Labour negotiates, the UK loses. “
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