THE Home Secretary has vowed to ramp up returns to France after a chartered flight took 16 small boat migrants back across the Channel.
A total of 42 migrants have now been sent back as part of the Government’s one-in-one-out deal.
But despite the threat of being sent back, a further 369 people arrived in Dover on Saturday on seven dinghies.
The UK has now received 23 people in the reciprocal scheme.
Shabana Mahmood said: “For many years, illegal migrants entered our country with no consequence.
“This is the largest return flight under our historic deal with the French.
“And it sends a warning to those considering entering this country illegally: if you come here by small boat, you can be sent back.
“This is just the beginning – I will scale up these removals to France. And I will do whatever it takes to secure our borders.”
More flights are expected to take place in the coming days and week.
A total of 36,734 people have now crossed the Channel this year – just 82 short of the total for the entire of 2024 which was 36,816.
Border security chief Martin Hewitt told MPs last week that the number of arrivals by small boat to the UK is “frustrating” but insisted work to stop the smuggling route was “always going to take time”.
This week Sir Keir Starmer will host a leaders’ summit with western Balkan countries to agree further measures to bring down the number of migrants arriving illegally to the UK.
