LONDON — Britain’s Home Office said its “one in, one out” pilot with France to return some small-boat Channel arrivals in exchange for an equal number of migrants with stronger UK claims is no longer processing new cases, effectively scrapping the year-old scheme, the BBC reported.
Only about 1,500 people had been removed to France since the pilot began just over a year ago. A Home Office spokesperson said flights would continue for a time to clear remaining cases and that “lessons learned” would speed returns of people with no right to remain. The French Interior Ministry told the BBC it was discussing “terms of exit from the agreement.” Crossings from Jan. 1 to Sept. 27, 2026, totaled 19,135 people — down 42 percent from the same period a year earlier, Home Office figures cited by the BBC showed.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood had told MPs the scheme faced scaling problems in the French system even as UN agencies reported some migrants hesitated to board boats for fear of return. France had signaled for months it did not intend to renew the bilateral pilot beyond Oct. 1, preferring broader EU burden-sharing talks.
Sources: BBC News, CNA with AFP
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