‘Illegals are laughing at us’: Fury erupts over France migrant farce | Politics | News

More than 60,000 people have made the switch since Sir Keir Starmer took office, shattering his promise to “smash gangs”, analysis has revealed.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood admitted these figures were “disgraceful” and said: “The British people deserve better.”

But UK Reform leader Nigel Farage told the Express: “Starmer’s one in, one out policy is a complete failure. Illegals are laughing at us. Completely incompetent people are guarding our borders.”

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “The government’s comeback ploy is turning into a farce.

“The handful of people they sent back to France they can’t even get to actually stay there – and now this guy is back in the UK and using the modern slavery claim to stay.

“Only 42 people returned to France at a time when more than 10,000 people arrived.

“This is clearly not a deterrent. We need to leave the ECHR and allow us to remove all illegal immigrants within a week of their arrival.

“But Labor is too weak to do that.”

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said: “Does this mean we have to get two people from France to give it back?

“The Labor Government is in complete chaos – it has no backbone, no plan and is too weak to make the tough decisions to secure our borders.”

The asylum seeker, whose application was rejected, first arrived in the UK on 6 August and was then deported on 19 September.

Ms Mahmood is said to be “furious” at this nonsense, and sources say the Iranian national will be “deported as soon as possible”.

But the unnamed asylum seeker said France was full of “terror and stress”.

He said: “If I felt France was safe for me, I would never return to England.

“When we returned to France, we were taken to a shelter in Paris. I did not dare to go out because I was afraid for my life. Smugglers are very dangerous. They always carry guns and knives. Before crossing from France to England for the first time, I fell into the trap of a human trafficking ring in the French forests.

“They took me like a worthless object, forced me to work, harassed me, threatened me with a gun, and told me that I would be killed if I objected even the slightest.

“Every day and every night I was filled with fear and stress. Every day I live in fear and anxiety, every noise, every shadow, every unfamiliar face scares me.

“When I first arrived in the UK I was crying when the Home Office asked me what had happened and I couldn’t talk about it out of embarrassment.”

More than 11,000 migrants have reached the UK since the “one in, one out” scheme began on 6 August.

Keir Starmer suffered two hammer blows on Wednesday as the number of arrivals this year exceeded 36,816 (total for the whole of 2024).

The crossings meant that under Labor rule the number of migrants detected across the Channel exceeded 60,000.

Migrants returned to France are housed in one of 3,000 state accommodation centers for asylum seekers.

But they are not detained, so they are free to come and go.

The French interior ministry denied the claim that the conditions of asylum seekers sent back to France were difficult.

Analysis by think tank Migration Watch on Tuesday criticized Sir Keir’s return deal with France, warning that only 42 people had been removed since August 6.

They told Labor it would take almost 300 years to remove every immigrant from the country.

Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt said the repatriation plan “sends a message” to those hoping to cross the border.

But speaking to MPs last week, Mr Hewitt said the Home Office had yet to come across a migrant who had returned to France after being deported.

“We check anyone who comes here in a small boat or other mechanism. So if someone is the same person we brought back, that will be revealed very quickly.”

“It’s really early days.

“I think it’s a positive place to be, given that we’re in a place where for the first time an inadmissible person can be sent back to France, and where someone can be offered the opportunity to avoid getting on a small boat.

“Very early stages of the pilot.

“We need to get the system up and running, work on it, and get it up and running.

“Then we might be in a position to scale the system. But the reality is, I know I’ve said this a few times, but this is an important point, there’s nothing that can fundamentally stop what we’re facing.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hosted leaders of Western Balkan countries in London on Wednesday in the hope of agreeing new measures to stop migrants using the “criminal highway” through Europe.

Only Kosovo has said it is willing to accept unsuccessful asylum seekers from the UK, while others have distanced themselves from the Labor leader’s plan for return centres.

But Kosovars admitted they would only receive a “small” number.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “The previous government left our borders in crisis and we are still suffering the consequences. These figures are disgraceful; British people deserve better.”

“This Government is taking action. We have detained and removed more than 35,000 people who came here illegally. Our historic agreement with the French means those arriving on small boats are now being sent back.”

“But it is clear that we need to go further and faster, removing more of those who are illegal here and preventing small boat crossings of migrants in the first place.

“And I said it clearly: I will do whatever it takes to restore order at our borders.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “We will not accept any abuse of our borders and will do everything we can to remove those who have no legal right to be here.

“Anyone who returns to the pilot and subsequently attempts to re-enter the UK illegally will be deported.”