UK sees 1,157 migrants cross in two days as one in, one out deal with France faces scrutiny

More than 1,100 illegal migrants have arrived in the United Kingdom by small boats over two days, according to Home Office data. On Friday, 1,072 people in 13 boats crossed the English Channel, an average of about 82 per vessel. On Saturday, 85 arrived in a single boat, despite high winds and choppy seas. The two-day total stands at 1,157, continuing a pattern of large daily arrivals that has tested processing capacity and policy responses.

Saturday’s arrival comes amid ongoing political controversy over the government’s one in, one out deal with France, under which a migrant who arrives by small boat can be sent back to France, and an equivalent number of asylum seekers who have applied legally in Britain are then brought to the UK. The two-day total outstrips the three asylum seekers sent to France under the arrangement across the period, underscoring both the scale of the crossings and the legal hurdles that have frustrated the policy.

Friday’s figure marked the third time this year that more than 1,000 people crossed the Channel in a single day. The year-to-date tally climbed to 32,188, approaching the 36,816 who arrived in all of 2024. Since Labour took power in July last year, more than 55,000 have reached Britain, despite Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s pledge to crack down on trafficking networks. The government has also scrapped plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, a policy that had been central to its deterrence strategy, and last-minute legal challenges have complicated the arrangement with France.

Under the one in, one out scheme, anyone arriving by small boat can be returned to France, with France obliged to send an equivalent number of asylum seekers who have applied legally in Britain. In the latest round, an Iranian man was returned to France on Friday, following an Eritrean man who lost a High Court bid to remain in the UK, and the deportation of an Indian national on Thursday. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has claimed the scheme provides an immediate deterrent to people considering the voyage, but Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp described it as pathetic and said boasting about it is absurd.

On social media, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote that three illegal migrants had been returned to France but more than 1,000 arrived that day, reflecting the political friction surrounding the policy.

The broader cost implications of the surge are under scrutiny. The near-1,100 arrivals on Friday, if sustained, could cost British taxpayers roughly £43 million for housing, food, healthcare, legal aid, education and other benefits for a year, with local councils also receiving about £1,200 per asylum seeker to cover incidental expenditures. Separately, a voluntary Home Office scheme pays failed asylum seekers £3,000 to leave Britain; between 2021 and 2024, 13,637 migrants took part in this program, at a cost of about £40.9 million.