Illegal migrant sent to France under 'one-in, one-out' deal RETURNS to UK

Claire Pearsall and Nigel Nelson clash over the success of the partial return ‘one-in, one-out’ scheme with France for small boat migrants. |

GB NEWS

Aymon Bertah

By Aymon Bertah


Published: 22/10/2025

- 13:17

Updated: 22/10/2025

- 16:27

The illegal migrant claimed he was a victim of modern slavery in northern France

A man has returned back to the UK on a small boat after he was sent to France under the "one-in, one-out" pilot scheme.

The man, wanting to claim asylum in the UK, said he believed France was not safe for him and claims to be a victim of modern slavery in northern France.


He spoke to The Guardian as he was being held in a UK immigration detention centre.

Home Office sources confirmed that one person sent to France under the UK-France treaty is now back in the UK.

"If I had felt that France was safe for me I would never have returned to the UK," the man claimed.

He further said that when "we returned to France we were taken to a shelter in Paris".

"I didn't dare to go out because I was afraid for my life," the man added.

"The smugglers are very dangerous."

\u200bA group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel

A group of people thought to be migrants were previously brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel

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PA

The man said the smugglers "always carry weapons and knives" and that he had fallen into the "trap of a human trafficking network in the forests of France" before he was able to cross the first time.

"They took me like a worthless object, forced me to work, abused me, and threatened me with a gun and told me I would be killed if I made the slightest protest," he added.

The man told The Guardian that "every day and night" he was filled with stress and terror and that he lived with fear and anxiety over any loud noise, shadow and strange face.

"When I reached UK the first time and Home Office asked what had happened to me I was crying and couldn't speak about this because of shame," he said.

Illegal migrants

The man said smugglers had threatened him

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GETTY

Centre for Migration Control Research Director told GB News: “The returns deal with France is in chaos".

“It has failed to deter anyone and migrants have now realised they can simply try again and come back across the channel," he added.

“Far from being a deterrent, this scheme is simply increasing the demand.

“The winners will be the people smugglers.”

A Home Office spokesman said: "We will not accept any abuse of our borders".

"We will do everything in our power to remove those without the legal right to be here," the spokesman said.

"Individuals who are returned under the pilot and subsequently attempt to re-enter the UK illegally will (be) removed."

The Human For Rights Network organisation said it had received multiple testimonies from asylum seekers, now in the UK, that had been exploited by smugglers in northern France.

Founder and Director of the organisation, Maddie Harris, said she had recently visited asylum seekers who had returned under the pilot scheme.

"We regularly hear from people who have spent time in France, passing through Dunkirk and Calais to get to the UK," she said.

Ms Harris added that they had "witnessed or experienced violence and exploitation" at the hands of smugglers and traffickers.

"This includes people being forced or coerced into steering a boat, the use of physical violence, servitude, beatings, stabbings and sexual violence," she added.

"The men we have spoken to post their removal to France under the 'one-in, one-out' scheme have spoken of their horror to find themselves back in a country where they do not feel safe."

The Home Office issued a statement on Sunday saying that 16 small boat arrivals had been returned to France last week.

Since the deal came into effect in early August, more than 10,000 illegal migrants had crossed the Channel, with now just 42 having returned to France.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said it showed Sir Keir Starmer's one-in, one-out policy was a "total abject failure".

"Illegals are laughing at us," he said.

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