The Home Office will return migrants to France for the first time this week under the terms of a new deal, Sky News understands.
The agreement, which was signed in July, saw migrants first detained on 6 August, and they will now be flown back to the continent.
Minister Jacqui Smith, who was home secretary under Gordon Brown, told Sky News: “It is starting in the near future.”
However, she would not confirm if any migrants detained by the UK over the past month will be on a flight today.
The ‘one in, one out’ deal means the UK can send people back to France if they have entered the country illegally. In exchange, the UK will allow asylum seekers to enter through a safe and legal route – as long as they have not previously tried to enter illegally.
It is a pilot scheme for now, which will be in place until June 2026.
Read more: How UK-France migrant returns deal works
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UK-France migrant returns deal explained
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The scheme comes amid growing public anger over immigration, with the issue recently becoming voters’ top concern for the first time since Brexit.
On Saturday, up to 150,000 people marched in London, gathering around Westminster in a protest dubbed ‘Unite the Kingdom’, and organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson. There were a number of clashes with police, leading to 25 arrests and 26 police officers being injured.
Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, said the “horrendous incidents” of violence were “completely abhorrent”, and said she was glad to hear those involved will feel the force of the law.
The scheme comes amid growing public anger over immigration
But speaking on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, she warned that the protest shows that people feel “let down” by the government on immigration.
Ms Trott told Sky News: “There is clearly an issue in this country at the moment about immigration and migration. People clearly feel let down by a government that came in and said they were going to ‘smash the gangs’. And what we’ve seen is an increase in migration.
“We are not seeing the action from this government, which is distracted by scandal after scandal.”
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Public feel ‘let down’ on immigration
She also accused Sir Keir Starmer of being a “rudderless prime minister”.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said that violence against police is “unacceptable” but said it is “proof that we live in a country where free speech, free association is alive and well”.
On immigration, he insisted that the government is “straining at the bit to get a grip on the migration crisis”, which Mr Kyle said Labour “inherited from the Conservatives”.
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‘Free speech is alive and well’
“We’ve been doing everything we can,” he said.
“The lesson is that by cooperating with our partners, France, rather than rowing with them, we are able to deliver.
“So I hope the flights will start as quickly as possible.”
But he said he was unaware of the exact date.
Mr Kyle added that ministers were “also angry about what we’ve inherited” and that they were doing “everything possible to get a grip on it”.
The number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel has topped 30,000 for the year so far.
It is the earliest point in a calendar year at which the 30,000 mark has been passed since data on the crossings was first reported in 2018.
