The Government will keep sending migrants back to France "again and again", Children's minister Josh MacAlister said after an Iranian national deported under the returns deal re-entered the UK. The man was detained after crossing the Channel for a second time on October 18, having been sent back to France on September 19.
MacAlister told Times Radio the case proves the system is working because repeat crossers will face repeated deportions. The Iranian man told the Guardian he was a victim of modern slavery at the hands of smugglers, but MacAlister called this a "ludicrous claim" and stressed that "France is a safe country".
"He was stopped, he was detained, and he was returned to France. He came again. He paid someone again, and he will be returned to France again," MacAlister said. The minister stressed this sends a clear message that crossers "will be deported" and "the money you've spent will be wasted".
Small boat numbers exceed last year
The incident emerged as small boat arrivals for 2025 surpassed the total for all of 2024. Some 220 people made the journey in three boats on Wednesday, bringing this year's cumulative total to 36,954 - exceeding last year's figure of 36,816.
The crossings continue despite the "one in, one out" deal struck between Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) and French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year. The treaty enables deportations of those deemed without right to stay in Britain, in exchange for equivalent numbers arriving through safe and legal routes.
France had also been expected to change the way it patrolled its waters to intercept boats, but the BBC reported that the country is backing away from that commitment, citing French sources. This development raises questions about the effectiveness of the broader returns agreement.
Home Office faces damning criticism
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood faced pressure over a secret report that found a "culture of defeatism" within the Home Office. The review by former Tory adviser Nick Timothy warned of "several confused and conflicting systems working to contradictory ends" resulting in poor enforcement of immigration laws.
Mahmood conceded the Home Office is "not yet fit for purpose" but said her department had been "set up to fail" under the previous Conservative administration. The Home Office tried to keep Timothy's report secret for more than two years before The Times obtained it following a legal challenge.
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA Union of civil servants, defended Home Office staff against the criticism. "If you're working in the Home Office, and you've seen failed policy after failed policy after failed policy, is there any surprise you're going to feel a little bit defeated?" he told Times Radio. Penman said staff "try to implement" policies, but "you can't tell them they have to believe in something that when they look at the evidence in front of them isn't going to work".
Sources used: "PA Media", "Times Radio", "Guardian", "BBC", "The Times" Note: This article has been created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
