LONDON (Chatnewstv.com) — Britain has carried out the first removal of a small boat migrant under a landmark treaty with France, the Home Office said Thursday, marking a new phase in the government’s effort to curb illegal Channel crossings.
A man who arrived in the United Kingdom by small boat in August was placed on a commercial flight on Thursday morning, the Home Office confirmed. Officials said further removals are expected in the coming days and weeks, while the first arrivals through a newly established legal route will also begin soon.
“This is an important first step to securing our borders,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a statement. “It sends a message to people crossing in small boats: if you enter the UK illegally, we will seek to remove you.”
The returns were made possible under a UK-France treaty that took effect Aug. 6 after being announced in July by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. The agreement allows Britain to detain and swiftly remove people arriving illegally by small boat, cutting off their access to the UK asylum system. In exchange, the UK will accept the same number of migrants through a safe and legal route subject to strict security and eligibility checks.
Mahmood said the government would resist efforts to block removals through the courts. “I will continue to challenge any last-minute, vexatious attempts to frustrate a removal,” she said.
The Home Office also confirmed it will appeal to the Court of Appeal to limit the time migrants have to present new evidence for reconsideration. A review of modern slavery laws has also begun to prevent misuse of protections, officials said.
The government said the treaty is part of a wider “whole-system package” of reforms aimed at fixing the asylum system and dismantling smuggling networks.
Enforcement agencies have already intensified operations, with the National Crime Agency carrying out about 350 disruptions against people-smuggling networks last year — a 40% increase from the year before. Over 35,000 people without legal status were returned in the same period, up 13% year-on-year.
Returns of foreign criminals rose 14% while asylum-related removals increased 28%, the Home Office said. Initial asylum decisions are now being issued at a rate of more than 31,000 per quarter — three times the average under the previous government.
