UK to start detaining channel migrants in days under new France deal

The British government has announced plans to start detaining migrants who arrive in the UK via small boats “within days,” ahead of a formal agreement with France expected on August 5, according to the latest report by Bloomberg.

The deal, described as a “one in, one out” arrangement, was reached last month between UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Under the agreement, Britain will return an unspecified number of migrants who crossed the English Channel illegally in small boats, while France will accept the same number of asylum seekers who have not yet attempted the crossing. The initiative will begin as a pilot program, with expectations that the weekly number of returns will increase over time.

This new measure follows a sharp increase in Channel crossings, which reached a record level in the first half of this year, up by 50% compared to the same period in both 2024 and 2022. The surge in arrivals has contributed to growing unrest, including protests and, in some cases, violence outside hotels being used to accommodate asylum seekers.

“This government has been repairing the broken asylum system we inherited, and today we send a clear message: if you arrive here illegally by small boat, you will be returned to France,” Prime Minister Starmer declared in an official statement.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper echoed this stance, emphasising that while the UK remains committed to supporting those fleeing war and persecution, it must be done through a “controlled and managed legal process.”

The bilateral arrangement with France was announced just one day after Nigel Farage—leader of the right-wing Reform UK party—held a press conference highlighting crimes committed by migrants. Immigration has become a central issue for Farage and his party, which has been gaining traction amid rising migration levels.

Reaffirming his hardline stance, Farage repeated his call for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and deport all small-boat migrants, regardless of the conditions in their countries of origin. “If you come from Afghanistan, you go back to Afghanistan,” he declared. “This idea that we can’t send people to certain countries must end,” he added. “I’m sorry, we’re done.”

By Tamilla Hasanova