By Eniola Amadu
The UK government has detained more than 100 people who crossed the Channel in small boats under its new “one in, one out” immigration scheme, designed to return irregular migrants to France.
So far, no one has been admitted to Britain through the official safe route system, fuelling growing frustration among migrants in Calais who say their applications remain unanswered.
According to officials, the reciprocal arrangement means new arrivals will only be processed once returns begin “in the coming weeks”.
Until then, those detained will be held in immigration centres.
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On French beaches, several migrants complained they had received no acknowledgement from the government’s formal application system for safe routes, introduced as an alternative to dangerous Channel crossings.
Despite this, more than 200 people managed to reach the UK on Sunday by boat, taking advantage of calmer weather.
Ministers said they plan to launch an extensive information campaign along France’s northern coast, warning migrants that those attempting the crossing risk immediate return to France—losing both their money and their chance of asylum.
A government spokesperson confirmed: “Detentions of those arriving from France have been happening in the last 24 hours. Some small boat migrants could find themselves on a bus to a detention centre before the day ends.”
The Home Office maintained that asylum seekers do not need a fixed address to apply for safe routes and that all applications receive a response.
Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is set to unveil a more hardline proposal, calling for mass deportations, expanded detention in military facilities, and agreements with third countries—including the controversial suggestion of negotiating with the Taliban to facilitate returns to Afghanistan.
His plan would require withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights and replacing the Human Rights Act with a British bill of rights.
Farage declared: “The time has come to put this country first. Is Keir Starmer on the side of the British people, national security and protecting women and girls—or on the side of outdated treaties and human rights lawyers?”
The Labour government, which entered office promising to restore order to the asylum system, dismissed Reform’s plans as “back-of-the-fag-packet” ideas.
Home Office minister Angela Eagle said her government had already saved £1 billion in accommodation costs, increased deportations of those with no legal right to remain, and introduced new legislation to accelerate removals—steps she claimed previous administrations had failed to deliver.
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“Illegal migration is a complex, global problem that demands realistic and sustainable solutions,” Eagle said.
