UK-France small boats returns deal - all you need to know as new details released

A groundbreaking returns agreement to tackle small boat crossings has been unveiled between the UK and France.

The 'one-in-one-out' deal is expected to see new arrivals returned within three months of landing in Britain- with Home SecretaryYvette Cooper vowing detentions will start within days. In exchange people with an acceptable claim to come to the UK, who have never attempted a Channel crossing or another unauthorised route, will be sent in their place.

The Government says the scheme - which will initially run until June next year - will act as a deterrent. Ms Cooper branded it "groundbreaking". Here we look at how the deal will work. It comes after The Mirror’s Kevin Maguire wrote: 'Labour must find engaging story for the UK - or face election wipeout'.

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Who can be returned?

Under a deal struck between the two nations, the UK will be able to send small boat arrivals back to France. It is the first time the Government has been able to do so since leaving the EU.

Small boat arrivals will be detained on arrival, the Government says. The agreement says both parties will seek to get returns completed within three months of a person arriving in the UK.

Britain will be required to carry out security checks on indivduals before making a request for France to readmit them - and French authorities will be able to refuse those believed to be a threat. Readmission requests have to be made within two weeks of their arrival in the UK, the deal states.

France will be expected to respond within a fortnight, but in exceptional circumstances can take longer. People will be returned by air.

How about the people sent from France to the UK?

Those who pose a "national security or public order risk" to the UK can be refused. The same is true of those who have previously been removed, and unaccompanied children will not be allowed to use this route.

The Government will also be able to reject transfers if the numbers sent back to France are not balanced. People wishing to come to the UK will be required to submit an Expression of Interest application - including detailed personal information and evidence of their identity and nationality.

This will be used to ensure they meet eligibility criteria. There will be a selection process to determine whose applications are prioritised - focusing on those most likely to be refugees, those at greatest risk of exploitation by smuggling gangs, and those with an existing connection to the UK.

Applicants who are selected will be required to provide biometric data and will undergo comprehensive security checks as part of the next stage of the process.

Is there any detail on cost?

The agreement states that the cost of transporting people back to France will be met by the UK up to the point where an individual is handed over.

Can the deal be scrapped within the next year?

Yes. Each side will be able to notify the other of their desire to suspend the agreement.

A Committee of delegates from each nation will have to meet within a week, and if the country that wants to end it does not change its mind, the suspension will take effect a week after the meeting.

Detentions to begin 'within days'

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said small boat arrivals will be detained to be returned to France "in a matter of days".

Ms Cooper said people who cross the Channel will be taken into custody "immediately on arrival". A new one-in-one-out deal - the first agreement to return migrants to France since Brexit - will come into force on Wednesday.

Ms Cooper told Sky News: "The first step will be to be detaining people because people will be detained until they are removed to France. And we expect those detentions to start in a matter of days."

First people could be returned this month

The Home Secretary said the Government is prepared to fight off legal challenges to get returns happening withing weeks.

Pressed on LBC Radio on whether that could happen by the end of August, Ms Cooper said: "Well, the first detentions, we want to take place in a matter of days, and then we will be referring those cases immediately to France.

"There are then processes that we need to work through, and we are ready to resist any legal challenge that comes forward as well. But we do want to see returns taking place in a matter of weeks, but we will need to work those processes through."

Asked again if this meant August, she said: "So again, we need to work those processes through, but we want to see the returns themselves take place as swiftly as possible. Bear in mind, people will be detained until they are returned detention."

How many people will be returned?

It has been reported that around 50 people a week will be returned to France. But the Government has refused to put any numbers on the scheme.

Justifying this, Ms Cooper said: "We don't want to provide operational information for criminal gangs who will then use it if they think there are particular numbers of people who are going to be detained on particular days. They will then use that and operate their boats and their gang operations around that, and that's not what we're prepared to tolerate."

She said: "I think the principle which says, frankly, if you arrive here on a small boat, you have paid thousands of pounds to a criminal people smuggler, you should be being returned. That money should be lost."

What has Keir Starmer said?

The PM said the agreement follows months of "grown up diplomacy" and represents an end to "gimmicks".

He said: "This government has been fixing the foundations of the broken asylum system we inherited and today we send a clear message – if you come here illegally on a small boat you will face being sent back to France. This is the product of months of grown-up diplomacy delivering real results for British people as we broker deals no government has been able to achieve and strike at the heart of these vile gangs’ business model.

"The days of gimmicks and broken promises are over – we will restore order to our borders with the seriousness and competence the British people deserve."

What do human rights groups say?

Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, said: “When it comes to asylum policy, this Government is proving to be just as unprincipled and impractical as its predecessor.

"A returns deal with France that makes access to safety in the UK - even for those with close family or connections here - dependent on someone else risking their life to cross the Channel only cements the role of smugglers in how people fleeing war and persecution must seek asylum in the UK.

“Once again, refugees are treated like parcels, not people, while the public is left to pay the price for, yet another cruel, costly failure dressed up as policy. The UK shares the same duty as other countries to provide asylum. But instead of facing that responsibility, this Government continues to swap one unworkable gimmick for another – aligning itself with the smugglers and the chaos they exploit."

Louise Calvey, executive director at Asylum Matters, branded it "yet another attack on the human right to seek sanctuary". She said: "It’s a grubby trade in human lives that will do nothing more than remove people from this country back into the hands of people smugglers. It will send them back to French shores where they’ll face escalating police violence: boats being slashed with families onboard, children being teargassed, violence which we know makes Channel crossings even more dangerous."

What has France said?

French interior minister Bruno Retailleau said: "The agreement between France and the United Kingdom to prevent the tragedy of Channel and North Sea crossings will take effect tomorrow. It establishes an experimental mechanism with a clear objective: to dismantle the smuggling networks.

"It marks a first step in addressing a challenge that calls for the mobilisation of the entire European Union, building on the EU-UK summit of May 19." And he added: "I reaffirm France’s determination to stop the flows and save lives."

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