Keir Starmer agreed to return migrants to deal with France

Thursday 10 July 2025 17:30

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Keir Starmer has agreed to the “pilot” agreement to restore illegal migrants to France in the exchange for individuals to arrive as asylum seekers as part of the trip to curb a small ship crossing.

In a speech delivered with French President Emmanuel Macron, Starmer said that new plans will begin in effect in the coming weeks.

Reports in the Le Monde newspaper and in all British media have suggested an initial agreement “one-in, one-out” will see around 50 migrants sent to France a week, with asylum seekers arriving via the legal route from the continent “subject to a tight security check” and only if they do not try to enter illegally.

“This will show other people trying to make the same trip with Sia -ia, and the work they have promised in the UK will no longer exist because of the national actions that we have given to illegal work that has never happened before.

“We accept the original asylum seeker because it is true that we offer heaven to those who need the most.

“But there is also something else, something more practical is that we cannot solve challenges such as stopping the boat by acting alone and telling our allies that we will not play football.”

A new agreement to face the spread of opposition from countries within the European Union over the fears of illegal migrants will cross to Spain or Italy.

But Emmanuel Macron, who claims to be “legal verification” must be carried out before the scheme is implemented, said that cooperation is the key to handling the grip of the smuggling of people.

He also blamed the post-Brexit agreement for failing to secure legal methods for asylum seekers to arrive in England.

“I don’t want people to get the idea that we don’t do our work and we throw away English money,” Macron said.

“I want to remind you that when you put one pound, we put three euros. We put a lot of money to defend the border.”

“British people are sold that the problem is Europe. By going, Brexit is a problem. For the first time in nine years we brought answers.”

The effectiveness of the migrant agreement depends on the transfer

Keir Starmer and senior labor officials said that new prevention of small vessel crossing would help the British get a grip of small ship crossings.

The small boat crossing at this point this year is around 50 percent higher than the level seen last year, according to official data.

Oxford University Migration Observatory shows that the number of people returned to the EU has dropped from 137 in 2020 to 57 in 2024.

Initial analysis of the recommended agreement there are still questions about the financial costs of sending payments to French troops, with the British have made £ 476 million between 2003 and 2026.

“There is some evidence that shows the return agreement can influence the decision of asylum seekers to come to England from Europe, including on small boats,” the researchers said.

“However, the impact can be very dependent on how the agreement works in practice.

“If the risk is transferred is very small, it is more likely that prospective asylum seekers will not know about the policy or will be willing to take risks. Similar logic applied to the Rwanda scheme – we hope to see the preventive effect only if the proportion is large enough from the affected person.”

The cost of crossing small vessels appears in security, legal costs and accommodation in the form of a Suaka Hotel, which has been funded from the development assistance budget abroad.