UK-France 'one in, one out' migrant scheme scrapped

The UK and France have decided to scrap their pilot "one in, one out" migrant exchange scheme, which previously permitted the UK to return certain small boat arrivals while accepting an equal number of individuals from France with legitimate claims to enter Britain.

Since the initiative launched just over a year ago, only around 1,500 people have been successfully removed to France. Sources indicate that while the government would have preferred the program to persist, officials ultimately felt it did not achieve the necessary scale.

Earlier this month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged to MPs that the program had faced operational hurdles, noting that figures remained relatively low and scaling up high-volume weekly removals into the French framework proved difficult.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

"However, flights will continue over the coming weeks to swiftly remove small boat migrants from the UK."

UK Home Office

The French Interior Ministry informed the BBC that both nations are currently discussing the terms of exit from the agreement. Meanwhile, British authorities stated they will leverage insights gained from the pilot to accelerate future efforts targeting individuals lacking the right to stay.