UK-France one-in-one-out migrant deal scrapped after France declines to continue
The UK government has confirmed the one-in-one-out pilot with France is being scrapped after France declined to continue, though removal flights for those already in the system will carry on.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The UK government has confirmed that the one-in-one-out migrant deal with France has been scrapped. The pilot allowed the UK to return some people who crossed the Channel in small boats to France, while taking in an equivalent number of people from France who were thought to have a legitimate claim to come to Britain.
The Home Office said the scheme failed to reach the scale ministers had hoped for. The UK government wanted the arrangement to continue, but France said no. France has previously spoken about the need for a broader European approach to migration. Reports ahead of the confirmation said a French immigration official had told The Daily Telegraph the scheme would end by the end of October. One report said President Emmanuel Macron had made clear to Andy Burnham that it was over.
The pilot was designed as a deterrent and a legal route, in an effort to stop people making dangerous journeys across the Channel. It had been called a groundbreaking moment by the previous prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer. Home Office figures suggest around 1,500 people were returned in just over a year. The Home Secretary said it had been difficult to scale up. The government has pointed to a significant fall in crossings this year, but it is hard to know how much the pilot contributed and other factors, including weather, may have played a part.
Some removal flights will continue for people already in the system. Further removals of small boat arrivals to France are expected over the coming weeks. The government has also said it will set up a new task force to help increase removals of arrivals with no right to remain.
Critics have questioned the value of the scheme. It was reported to have cost 78 million pounds, or about 56,000 pounds for each person sent back. There have also been reports that some people returned to France later made their way back to the UK. Supporters said the arrangement had some deterrent effect, and one report said the United Nations had said it had started to act as a deterrent.
Separately, in Paris, six men were found guilty of manslaughter over the worst migrant disaster recorded in the Channel. Twenty-seven people died when an overcrowded dinghy sank while trying to reach Britain in 2021. The victims included men, women, teenagers and a seven-year-old girl. Four people remain unaccounted for.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | BBC One | GB News |
|---|---|---|---|
| A French immigration official told The Daily Telegraph that the one-in-one-out migration scheme will end by the end of October. | |||
| More than 1,000 Channel migrants have been sent back to France under the deal. | |||
| France wants an EU-wide scheme rather than returning migrants only to France. | · | · | |
| The UK government wanted the migrant returns scheme to continue, but France refused. | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
GB News covered the story in two segments. Its late programme framed the collapse as a failure of Labour's alternative to the Rwanda scheme and focused on cost, French motives and Andy Burnham's claims on immigration. A later bulletin carried the Home Office confirmation straight, stressing that the scheme failed to reach the scale ministers wanted and that removals would not stop immediately.
- “the Home Office has confirmed it is scrapping the UK's one-in, one-out migrant deal with France, saying the scheme failed to reach the scale ministers had hoped for”
- “the uk's one-in-one out migrant deal with france is on the brink of collapse it's over says the french official”
- “it's because they want an eu-wide scheme um so they don't like the idea that migrants are only going back to france and not to other european countries”
The regional BBC bulletin gave a neutral explanation of why the scheme was scrapped, noting that the UK wanted it to continue but France refused. It put weight on the uncertain impact of the pilot, citing Home Office figures and the Home Secretary's comment that it was hard to scale up. It also set out what happens next for people in the system and the new removals task force.
- “The government has confirmed the one in one out agreement with France to send back some migrants who crossed the channel has been scrapped”
- “Well, Clyde the UK government didn't want it to be scrapped. They wanted it to continue but France said no”
- “the Home Office figures suggest around 1,500 people have been returned in just over a year”
The national BBC bulletin framed the story as the deal coming to an end today. It repeated the explanation that France refused to continue and that the pilot's effect on overall crossings is hard to measure. It also noted the scheme's stated deterrent purpose, the continued flights for those in the system and the new removals task force.
- “Here in the UK, the government's one-in-one out migrant deal with France comes to an end today.”
- “the pilot scheme is done. It's over.”
- “It was something that the previous prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, called a groundbreaking moment.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.