UK-France asylum returns deal expected to expire after 423 days
The scheme returned about 1,500 small boat arrivals to France and transferred a similar number legally to the UK. The UK cited difficulty expanding it.
The UK-France “one in, one out” asylum seeker deal is expected to expire on 1 October, government sources told The Guardian. Its formal end has not been confirmed.
The scheme, which ran for 423 days, allowed the UK to return one asylum seeker who had arrived by small boat in exchange for the legal transfer of another from France. About 1,500 people were returned to France and a similar number brought to the UK.
The UK government said it had been unable to expand the numbers involved as much as it wanted. France reportedly wanted other European countries to share responsibility for accepting returns, but none had agreed to join the arrangement.
More than 40,000 people arrived in Britain by small boat during the deal’s run. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said it was difficult to identify why Channel crossings were down by more than 40 per cent so far this year compared with the same period last year. The source does not establish that the deal caused the fall.
The Home Office said it would continue removing small boat arrivals where possible.
