LONDON: A Channel migrant who re-entered Britain by small boat after being removed to France under a new migration deal was deported again on Wednesday, the UK government said.
The asylum seeker, reportedly from Iran, was sent to France on September 19 — the third removal under the so-called one-in-one-out agreement struck by London and Paris — but then returned on October 18.
The Guardian reported the man had intended to seek asylum in Britain on the basis he was a victim of a human trafficking network operated by smugglers in northern France.
Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said in a statement Wednesday he had been detected by biometrics and detained instantly.
“His case was expedited, and now he has been removed again,” she added.
“Anyone looking to return to the UK after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money... if you try to return to the UK you will be sent back.”
The case was an embarrassing setback for the scheme aimed at deterring the tens of thousands of migrants arriving on small boats each year on the shores of southeast England.
Agreed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, it came into force in September and enables Britain to deport some of the arrivals deemed not to have a right to stay.
In return, London will accept an equal number of migrants from France who are likely to have their asylum claim granted, giving priority to nationalities most vulnerable to smugglers and those with ties in Britain.
So far, 94 migrants have been removed from the UK under the treaty, while 57 have arrived through the official channel, according to the interior ministry.
The scheme has been heavily criticized by migrants’ rights groups as unfair, while Starmer’s domestic political opponents have branded it a gimmick and ineffectual.
Nearly 37,000 migrants have arrived in Britain after crossing the Channel on small boats so far this year, surpassing the total for 2024.
That means 2025 is on course to be the second highest year for the crossings, lower than the record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.
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UK deports migrant back to France again after he returned on small boat
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UK deports migrant back to France again after he returned on small boat
- UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood: ‘His case was expedited, and now he has been removed again’
- So-called one-in-one-out scheme has been heavily criticized by migrants’ rights groups as unfair
Zelensky holds ‘very substantive’ call with US envoys Witkoff and Kushner
KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday he and his negotiators who are discussing a US-led plan for Ukraine had a “very substantive and constructive” call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
“Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelensky said on Telegram as the third day of the talks were to be held in Florida.
“We agreed on the next steps and the format of the talks with America,” he added.
Zelensky, who was in Kyiv, joined the call with top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and Andriy Gnatov, the chief of staff of Kyiv’s armed forces, both of whom were in Miami for the talks with the US side.
The two Americans — Witkoff, who is US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law — had been meeting with Umerov and Gnatov since Thursday.
Trump’s team is trying to swiftly settle the conflict in Ukraine, which has run for nearly four years.
An initial US plan released two weeks ago was seen by Kyiv and its European allies as aligning too closely with many of Russia’s hard-line positions, and has since been revised.
Zelensky said the call with Witkoff and Kushner “focused on many aspects and quickly discussed key issues that could guarantee an end to the bloodshed and remove the threat of a third Russian invasion, as well as the threat of Russia failing to fulfil its promises, as has happened many times in the past.”
He said he was waiting a “detailed report” from Umerov and Gnatov.
“We cannot discuss everything over the phone, so we need to work in detail with the teams on ideas and proposals,” he added.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s approach to the negotiations was that “everything must be capable of working, every important thing for peace, security and reconstruction.”
French President Emmanuel Macon said on Saturday that he, Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz would meet in London on Monday to “take stock” of the US-led negotiations.
“Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelensky said on Telegram as the third day of the talks were to be held in Florida.
“We agreed on the next steps and the format of the talks with America,” he added.
Zelensky, who was in Kyiv, joined the call with top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and Andriy Gnatov, the chief of staff of Kyiv’s armed forces, both of whom were in Miami for the talks with the US side.
The two Americans — Witkoff, who is US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law — had been meeting with Umerov and Gnatov since Thursday.
Trump’s team is trying to swiftly settle the conflict in Ukraine, which has run for nearly four years.
An initial US plan released two weeks ago was seen by Kyiv and its European allies as aligning too closely with many of Russia’s hard-line positions, and has since been revised.
Zelensky said the call with Witkoff and Kushner “focused on many aspects and quickly discussed key issues that could guarantee an end to the bloodshed and remove the threat of a third Russian invasion, as well as the threat of Russia failing to fulfil its promises, as has happened many times in the past.”
He said he was waiting a “detailed report” from Umerov and Gnatov.
“We cannot discuss everything over the phone, so we need to work in detail with the teams on ideas and proposals,” he added.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s approach to the negotiations was that “everything must be capable of working, every important thing for peace, security and reconstruction.”
French President Emmanuel Macon said on Saturday that he, Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz would meet in London on Monday to “take stock” of the US-led negotiations.
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