UK Scraps 'One In, One Out' Migrant Return Deal With France After Just 1,500 Removals

The British government has confirmed it is ending its controversial "one in, one out" pilot agreement with France, a scheme designed to return some migrants who cross the English Channel in small boats while accepting an equivalent number of people from France with legitimate claims to enter Britain. The programme, which had been running for just over a year, will no longer process new cases, though return flights are expected to continue in the coming weeks.

Under the arrangement, the UK could send back a limited number of small boat arrivals to France, while in exchange taking in the same number of individuals from France who were believed to have a valid claim to come to Britain. The scheme was intended as a deterrent to people considering the dangerous Channel crossing, but its scale remained far below what ministers had hoped for, with only around 1,500 people removed to France since it began.

BBC sources indicate that the government would have preferred to keep the scheme running but ultimately concluded it had not achieved the desired scale. The decision to wind it down reflects a broader acknowledgment that the pilot failed to deliver the volume of removals needed to make a meaningful impact on the numbers crossing the Channel.

A Home Office spokesperson confirmed the change in policy, stating that the pilot with France to remove asylum seekers in exchange for an equal number of legal migrants is no longer processing new cases. The spokesperson added that flights will continue over the coming weeks to swiftly remove small boat migrants from the UK, and that lessons learned from the pilot will be used to accelerate efforts to return those with no right to remain.

The spokesperson also emphasised that the government would continue to work with France to tackle small boat crossings, pointing to what they described as "real progress" and noting that numbers are significantly down on last year. The French Interior Ministry, for its part, told the BBC that discussions with the British side are ongoing regarding the terms of exiting the agreement, suggesting a formal conclusion to the arrangement is still being negotiated.

The scrapping of the scheme comes after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood admitted earlier this month that the programme had "not been without its challenges." Speaking to MPs, she noted that the numbers involved remained relatively small and that scaling up removals into the French system on a weekly basis had proven operationally difficult. Her comments underscored the practical hurdles that ultimately undermined the pilot's effectiveness.

Mahmood also pointed to a more encouraging signal, however, saying the United Nations and other agencies had reported that some migrants were choosing not to board small boats because they believed there was a chance they could be accepted under the "one in, one out" scheme. This suggested the policy may have had some deterrent effect, even if it failed to operate at the scale originally envisioned.

That deterrent value was costly, though. The scheme has been reported to cost around £56,000 per person returned to France, according to the home secretary, raising questions about value for money at a time when the government is under pressure to demonstrate control over the UK's borders. The high per-person cost, combined with the relatively low number of removals, likely contributed to the decision to end the pilot.

The broader context of small boat crossings remains a central concern for the government. Between 1 January and 27 September 2026, a total of 19,135 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France, a figure down by 42% compared with the same period the previous year, when 32,188 crossed. Since 2020, these crossings have become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally, and nearly all who arrive by small boat claim asylum, which under international law allows them to stay while their application is considered.

Small boat arrivals accounted for 40% of asylum applications between July 2025 and June 2026, and boats arriving in the UK between 28 September 2025 and 27 September 2026 carried an average of 67 people — more than double the average in 2021. Experts have warned that overcrowding makes these crossings riskier, and at least 84 people died attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, according to the United Nations. While small boat arrivals represent roughly 5% of total immigration into the UK from January to December 2025, their visibility and the humanitarian risks involved have kept them at the centre of political debate.

The nationalities of those arriving reflect a range of global crises. People from Eritrea accounted for 18% of all arrivals between July 2025 and June 2026, with 5,875 Eritreans detected. Sudan followed with 4,191 arrivals, Afghanistan with 4,042, Somalia with 3,901, and Iran with 3,657. In addition to small boat arrivals, another 4,712 people were detected entering the UK without permission through other methods — including hiding in vehicles, travelling on ferries, or arriving through airports — between July 2025 and June 2026, a decrease of 17% on the previous year.

The government has pledged to "smash the gangs" responsible for organising these crossings as part of its strategy to reduce the numbers. The end of the "one in, one out" pilot marks a shift in approach, with ministers now signalling that future efforts will focus on accelerating returns and deepening cooperation with France, rather than continuing a scheme that, despite its symbolic importance, delivered fewer than 1,500 removals in more than a year.