The British government has said it will fight any attempt aimed at stopping the deportation of migrants to France under the so-called "one in, one out" deal reached between the two countries last year. The announcement comes after a court challenge to stop the scheme was brought by 16 asylum seekers.
Legal efforts to halt the UK's "one in, one out" deal with France have started at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
The agreement — officially named the "UK/European applicant transfer scheme" — was reached between the two countries last year and is aimed at deterring at least some migrants from trying to come to Britain on small boats from France.
According to the scheme, migrants who arrive by small boat in the UK and who are not found to be "vulnerable" (such as unaccompanied youths, elderly migrants or people with illnesses), can be detained in the UK and promptly returned to France — as long as an equivalent number of eligible migrants already in France are brought in through safe and legal routes.
The pilot scheme with France is part of Britain's overall objective of significantly raising the number of deportations of those with no right to stay in the UK.
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More in than out
Britain hopes that by effectively punishing people who decided to pay thousands of euros for irregular crossings by sending them back, while simultaneously flying in people who have been waiting patiently in France will — over time — dissuade people from seeking out irregular and dangerous pathways to get to the UK.
The scheme, however, has attracted controversy since its inception: Last month, UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood had to admit that more migrants had arrived in the UK under the pilot scheme than the rate of those who have been returned.
Mahmoud highlighted the fact that 281 people had been sent back to France under the program, while 350 people had come to the UK.
A series of smaller scandals have also rocked the controversial scheme: Last week, it was reported that two Home Office officials tasked with escorting one of the migrants back to France under the "one in, one out" scheme last November had fallen asleep on the job, just as the migrant in question was being transported from an immigration removal center in the UK to Paris.
British prison inspectors also found that the atmosphere in the run-up to deportations was tense, with multiples scuffles reported between deportees and security staff.
Last September, a 25-year-old Eritrean national tried to halt his removal from the UK by claiming that he was a trafficking victim who would be forced into modern-day slavery if he was sent back, resulting in a temporary High Court injunction in this case.
Trafficking and slavery challenges affect nearly half of all cases
Now, there's also a wider legal intervention underway to undo the "one in, one out" scheme on a similar premise: A group of 16 migrants has decided to challenge the program, saying that it failed to provide safeguards against human trafficking.
The group allege that migrants who arrive in the UK can start a new life by applying for asylum, whilst in France they might be forced into illegal and indentured labor practices comparable to modern-day slavery just in order to get by.
They believe that many of the people who come to Britain have previously failed their asylum application in France and are therefore not able to receive state support; re-applying in Britain under a different set of rules and conditions (since the UK is no longer a member of the European Union), could afford them a fresh start if they succeed, the group of migrants argue.
They also say they are afraid of the prospect of France returning them to their home countries, where they feel they might fall prey to slavery.
The Home Office meanwhile has confirmed that 40 percent of the people who have qualified for deportation under the scheme have claimed they might be subjected to slavery-like conditions if they are sent away from the UK.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, himself a human rights lawyer, meanwhile has been defending the policy introduced by his government as an innovative way of dealing with irregular immigration.
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Immigration now the biggest concern in Britain
Britain's Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Alex Norris, said that the "government will fight any legal attempt in the courts to frustrate their removal or deportation."
"Last-minute modern slavery claims must never be used to prevent the removal of illegal migrants," he stressed in a statement.
The British government, led by the Labour Party, is currently experiencing great pressure and scrutiny, especially for its migration policies.
Since Starmer became prime minister in 2024, more than 65,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel — the highest tally under any British leader, since migrant Channel crossing data began being gathered in 2018, by the government. It is also important to note that during that time, none of the leaders have served a full parliamentary term. The Conservative party Prime Minister Theresa May stood down in 2019 to be replaced by Boris Johnson. He was in turn replaced by Liz Truss and she was replaced very quickly by Rishi Sunak. Sunak then lost the elections to Keir Starmer in July 2024.
Against the backdrop of Starmer's failure to make good on his campaign pledge to "stop the boats" as well as a number of unrelated questions over his leadership, calls have been mounting lately for the prime minister to step down.
A survey conducted by the US-based Gallup pollster found recently that the UK is now the leading country in the world to cite immigration as its top national problem, with more than a fifth of the population citing immigration as their biggest national concern in 2025.
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