Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have announced a new agreement to co-operate on Channel crossings on the last day of the French president’s state visit to the UK.
Ahead of the Franco-British summit at Downing Street on Thursday, the leaders said that migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats is a “shared priority that requires shared solutions”.
Here is a closer look at the fresh plan and what the issue is.
– What is the concern over the Channel crossings?
A record number of 21,117 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel so far this year, provisional Home Office figures show.
This is up 50% on this point last year (14,058) and 65% higher than at this stage in 2023 (12,772), according to PA news agency analysis.
At least nine people have died while attempting the journey this year, from reports by French and UK authorities, but there is no official record of fatalities in the Channel.
Ministers want to end the crossings because they “threaten lives and undermine our border security”.
Data on the crossings of migrants in “small boats” like inflatable dinghies has been collected since 2018.
In the first year of data, just 299 people were recorded to have arrived in the UK this way.
Since 2018, 94% of migrants who arrived by small boat crossing have claimed asylum in the UK, or 145,834 out of 154,354 people.
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
– What has the Labour Government’s approach been to the issue?
Since Labour came to power last July, the party has vowed to “smash the gangs”.
Ministers have sought to ramp up enforcement action against smugglers, including by setting up a Border Security Command to lead the strategy and intelligence sharing to tackle crossings, across national agencies and internationally.
New legislation is also expected to hand counter terror-style powers to police and introduce new criminal offences to crack down on people-smuggling gangs, if approved by Parliament.
The Government is seeking to reset the relationship with Europe to co-operate over the crossings run by people smuggling gangs.
In February this year, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper agreed to re-purpose £7 million of cash to French counterparts to bolster enforcement action on the nation’s coastline to tackle Channel crossings.
This action included funding of a unit of elite officers in France to increase patrols, launching a new intelligence unit in Dunkirk to “hunt” people smugglers and training more drone pilots to intercept crossings before they reach the sea.
The French have also agreed to change its rules to allow police to intervene when boats are in shallow water, rather than requiring them still to be on land.
Meanwhile ministers are hoping to deter new arrivals promised jobs when they come to the UK by cracking down on illegal working and deportations of ineligible asylum seekers.
Borders are being breached by criminal gangs worldwide.
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) March 4, 2025
Life-threatening Channel crossings have occurred for years - it is time to act.
Border Security Command is how we fight back. pic.twitter.com/WIWM3181Gu
– What is the new deal and how will it work?
On Thursday, the Prime Minister and French president agreed a plan to send back small boats migrants, with an asylum seeker being sent to the UK in exchange in equal numbers.
Under the pilot scheme, people arriving on a small boat can be detained and returned to France for the first time.
Asylum seekers accepted to come to the UK under the deal would travel via a safe, legal route, “subject to strict security checks”.
Those in France could express an interest to apply for asylum to the UK through an online platform developed by the Home Office, 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 the criteria for deciding which migrants who arrive in the UK by small boat will be sent back to France, but it is understood the pilot will start with adults and will be based on operational factors.
New arrivals will be screened at Manston processing centre, in Kent, which is current procedure, before individuals determined to be suitable for the pilot and for detention, will be picked and held in an immigration removal centre.
Their removal is expected to be made on the grounds of inadmissibility, that they have arrived from the UK from a safe country where their case can be heard instead, because an agreement is in place with France.
The inadmissibility rule is believed to have been introduced under 2021 immigration rules to replace agreements with the European Union after Brexit, and was further enacted under the Conservative government’s Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
Migrants will be able to claim exceptional circumstances against the decision.
It is expected more widely that appeals will not be successful as asylum seekers will be returned to France which is a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights and has an established asylum system.
For the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 10, 2025
This Government is breaking the business model of criminal smuggling gangs and securing our borders.
– How many people will be part of the pilot and much will it cost?
No official number of migrants has been confirmed to take part in the pilot, but it is understood numbers will grow over the pilot period and depend on operational factors.
There is no funding to France associated with this agreement, and operations around the returns and arrivals will be paid for from the existing Home Office budget.
– What has the reaction been to the deal?
Opposition politicians were scathing about the Prime Minister’s deal with Mr Macron, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage branding it a “humiliation”.
Meanwhile, executive director of the International Rescue Committee UK, Flora Alexander, said it marked “yet another step in the wrong direction”.
“Evidence shows that these policies don’t stop people from seeking safety – they simply force them into more perilous journeys, putting lives at risk,” she said.
Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon also called for different safe and legal ways to reach the UK from conflict zones, and for those with families in the UK to be adopted.
He added: “The groundbreaking one for one deal with France is an important first step, but it’s vital that it is implemented in a way that treats all those seeking asylum fairly and with respect and dignity.
“For now, it’s too soon to determine what the impact will be.”
