The small boat migrant who came back to Britain after being deported under the ‘one in, one out’ deal has finally been removed a second time.
The Iranian man was sent back to France by the Home Office today, more than two weeks after he sneaked back into the UK.
He first arrived here on August 6 – the day the deal with France came into force – and was detained before being removed from Britain on September 19 on a scheduled flight.
But he later slipped out of a migrant shelter in Paris, where he had been housed, and headed back to the northern French coast.
There he boarded a dinghy back to the UK, arriving alongside 368 others on October 18.
The farce prompted serious questions about Labour’s flagship scheme to tackle the small boats crisis.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: ‘Anyone looking to return to the UK after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money.
‘This individual was detected by biometrics and detained instantly.
‘His case was expedited, and now he has been removed again.
‘My message is clear: if you try to return to the UK you will be sent back.
‘I will do whatever it takes to scale up removals of illegal migrants and secure our borders.’
The Home Office also confirmed there have been 94 migrants removed from the UK under the ‘one in, one out’ deal so far.
The Iranian ‘back and forth’ migrant has only been counted once in the total.
In addition, 57 migrants have been brought to the UK under the reciprocal terms of the deal. They are handed three-month visas and a chance to ‘regularise’ their stay here, usually by making asylum applications.
The Iranian migrant claimed he was not safe in France and that he was a victim of modern slavery at the hands of people trafficking gangs.
Such claims are often used in legal challenges in an attempt to thwart the removals process.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer scrapped the Tories’ Rwanda scheme – which was designed to deter small boat crossings and save lives – as one of his first acts in office.
The deal with the French, signed in July, was Labour’s attempt to get on top of soaring Channel crossings.
This year’s number of Channel small boat migrants reaching Britain is already the second highest on record.
There have been 36,954 arrivals so far this year, up 17 per cent on the same point in 2024.
There has now been 13 days with no arrivals due to high winds in the Channel, with today expected to be a 14th.
But forecasts predict short breaks in the weather in the next few days, which could mean crossings resume.
