'One-in, one-out' small boats pilot plan comes into force
Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the agreement in July, but it was still subject to legal scrutiny by the European Commission and EU member states.The UK government has now said that the "EU Commission, Germany and other member states have given the green light on this innovative approach" meaning the scheme can go ahead. Under the plan, an adult migrant who tries to get to the UK by crossing the Channel could be returned to France if their claim for asylum is deemed to be inadmissible.
The government has not confirmed how many migrants would be returned and accepted under the plan, but said it would look to "ramp up both the pace and scale of returns over the course of the pilot scheme".There have been reports that 50 people per week could be returned, compared to the weekly average of more than 800 people currently making the crossing. Sir Keir has previously said the pilot is not "a silver bullet" but believes it will deter people from making the dangerous journey following a big increase in the numbers so far this year. As of 30 July, more than 25,000 people had crossed the Channel in small boats in 2025 - around 49% higher than at the same point in 2024.
The government is under pressure to reduce the numbers, having previously promised to "smash the gangs" organising the journeys. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper hailed the agreement as "ground breaking" and an "important step towards undermining the business model of the organised crime gangs"."It is also right to make clear that – while the UK will always be ready to play its part alongside other countries in helping those fleeing persecution and conflict – this must be done in a controlled and managed legal way, not through dangerous, illegal, and uncontrolled routes," she said. On Monday, the government announced £100m to fund 300 National Crime Agency Officers to stop the people smugglers arranging the crossings. It has also said it wants to tackle illegal working, to reduce pull factors encouraging people to come to the UK. Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the government's deal with the French would be less effective than the Rwanda plan, proposed by the previous Conservative government."The Rwanda removals deterrent, under which 100% of illegal arrivals would be removed, was ready to go last summer but Labour cancelled it just days before it was due to start with no proper replacement plan," he said."As a result, this year so far has been the worst ever for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel."When the UK and France first announced the plan in July, the charity Asylum Matters criticised the measure, arguing: "The only way to stop people from making dangerous journeys is to give them real safe routes to seek sanctuary."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Class warfare is back under this spiteful government – and we will ALL end up paying a ruinous price: LEO MCKINSTRY
The current government is increasingly running not on a desire to improve the country, or out of any kind of political mission - but on sheer spite. Having failed to achieve the elusive economic 'growth' he and his inept Chancellor Rachel Reeves promised before the election, Sir Keir Starmer is now trying to revive his fortunes by stoking class envy.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Fears Russia will sink its own ships in a 'false flag' and blame the West after the Kremlin accused Britain of preparing 'mass raids'
Russia is feared to be preparing false flag attacks on its shadow fleet of sea vessels in order to deter the West from further sanctioning them. According to the Telegraph, a report from the SVR, Moscow 's foreign intelligence service, claimed that the UK was plotting to attack Russia's fleet of ships used to subvert sanctions. The SVR said that the attacks would be designed to look like accidents, causing significant environmental damage and allowing the UK and the rest of NATO to justify further actions against them. The report claimed: 'British intelligence services are planning to use NATO allies to launch a mass raid on the "shadow fleet"; for this purpose, an ecological catastrophe in international waters is being prepared.' But experts said the report's publication raised concerns that Russia is preparing its own false flag operation, a scheme carried out by the Kremlin but designed to look like it has British origins. Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at RUSI, told the newspaper: 'One interpretation might be that the Russians are insuring themselves against something breaking down or sinking, in a way that creates a pretext for restricting [their movement across the ocean].' So far, at least six tankers have suffered mysterious explosions since the start of the year. The suspicion has largely fallen on Ukraine, as all of the tankers were docked in Russian ports. Some of them were carrying Russian oil. It comes after the National Crime Agency (NCA) warned UK financial firms that Russian oil trading companies are utilising a complex network of companies with deliberately obscure ownership structures in order to evade sanctions. Britain has banned the maritime transportation of Russian oil as its energy exports are funding the war in Ukraine. In 2024, 30 per cent of Russia's federal budget came from oil and gas sales. But Russian oil trading companies are managing to circumvent sanctions to get Western cash which is continuing to fund the Russian state, investigators believe. One of the companies sanctioned last year used over 100 Shadow Fleet oil tankers, vessels which are usually over 15 years old which secretly carry Russian oil. To avoid detection, flags are regularly changed and the ship's automatic identification system is turned off to avoid its movements being tracked, while the oil is often transferred from one ship to another to obscure its origin before the shipment reaches its destination. Over 400 Shadow Fleet vessels have so far been sanctioned by the UK, EU, US and Canada. An NCA spokesman said: 'Today, the National Crime Agency has issued an alert to financial institutions and other members of the UK regulated sector in relation to the sale of Russian oil and gas through the use of Shadow Fleet vessels and front companies. 'Sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of its invasion of Ukraine have had a significant impact on its ability to sell oil and gas it produces. 'However, in an effort to circumvent these controls, Russian oil trading companies are utilising a complex network of companies with deliberately obscure ownership structures to evade sanctions whilst accessing Western finance and professional services in order to continue to fund the Russian state.'
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Prison system came 'within days of collapse' - and not just once
The prison system was close to collapse on a number of occasions between autumn 2023 and summer 2024, an independent review by former chief inspector of prisons, Dame Anne Owers, has found. The report, which was published on Tuesday, said there was a systemic problem which has led to recurring prison capacity crises over the last 18 years. Dame Anne warned there is an urgent need for senior staff in the justice system to move from crisis management to a more strategic approach to avoid repeated issues. The report also stressed the importance of having enough capacity in probation and other community services, as they are critical to prevent offending and reoffending. The report, which was commissioned by Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood in February, also detailed the financial cost of the crisis. It found the price of holding prisoners in police cells reached over £70m, while construction costs for new prisons nearly doubled to £10.1bn. 0:33 Prisons struggling to 'work effectively and safely' Dame Anne said: "The scale, likelihood, risks, and consequences of the prison capacity crisis could not have been signalled more clearly, at every level of government. "The response was last-minute short-term fixes rather than long-term solutions to the underlying problems." She said the crises had spanned successive governments, and "seriously affected prisons' ability to work effectively and safely". Rather than just invest in prisons themselves, the government should pour more money into community provision to help reduce offending and reoffending, she added. Other recommendations include: • Putting in place a 10-year plan for capacity in probation and community services • Setting up an independent body to provide advice and check the plans of prison and probation services • Getting the HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) Board to evaluate the Prison Service 2:28 'Close to total collapse' Ms Mahmood, the justice secretary, said: "This report lays bare the disgraceful way the last Conservative government ran our prisons. "They added less than 500 cells to the prison estate over 14 years, released over 10,000 prisoners early under a veil of secrecy, and brought our jails close to total collapse on countless occasions."
