Britain in 'final stages' of agreeing new migrant deal to send back small boat arrivals

Richard Fuller slams Labour's Migrant approach
GB NEWS
Aymon Bertah

By Aymon Bertah


Published: 14/07/2025

- 09:26

Updated: 14/07/2025

- 09:41

Kurdish Iraqis dominate thousands of smuggled migrants coming to UK

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is in the "final stages" of securing a migrant returns deal with Iraq which could send back more failed asylum seekers from the UK.

Ministers are fighting to wrangle the migrant crisis, with 2025 on course to be a record year for small-boat crossings, the deal with the Iraqi Government is said to be in the "final stages".


Iraqi Kurds have dominated the people smuggling network of the 21,000 who have already made the dangerous journey across the English Channel.

Cooper reached an agreement with Iraq last year to tackle the issue, strengthening ties between the two countries, including sharing intelligence and more law enforcement operations.

The National Crime Agency has worked alongside Kurdish authorities, saying it has succeeded in tracking criminals in usually "untouchable" areas.

Cooper wants to further the deal in a bid to strengthen the relationship between the UK and Iraq.

It would enable the UK to quickly detain migrants and deport them, according to The Sunday Times.

It comes as the Government is looking at digital ID cards for migrants, in order for them to show they have the right to live and work in the UK.

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Yvette Cooper

Yvette Cooper is expected to strike a deal with Iraq in a bid to send back more failed asylum seekers

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UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is this week set to discuss border security as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to visit the UK.

Their meeting is said to include talks on "what more we can do together to prosecute criminal networks and prevent people smuggling to the UK", according to the Sunday Express.

The Home Office have reported that 353 people crossed the English Channel by small-boats on Friday alone.

It was just a day after Starmer signed a deal with French President Emmanuel Macron, during his state visit.

Migrant boat

A refugee boat sets off to cross the English Channel in Wimereux, northern France

BARTEK LANGER/GETTY

The deal hopes to deter migrants from making the perilous crossing from France to the UK.

The deal which has been regarded as one-in, one out, will allow the the UK to send back migrants to France in legal exchange for asylum seekers with links to Britain.

The pilot deal is set to begin in a matter of weeks, but it requires final legal verification from the European Union.

If approved it would see approximately 50 illegal migrants sent back across the Channel.

GB News host Eamonn Holmes delivered a scathing verdict on Starmer's deal with Macron.

He said the agreement wasn't "going to fix the problem".

Eamonn declared that "not a lot of people" will disagree with those doubting the agreement, saying "more than 1,200 migrants crossed the Channel since the deal on Thursday.

"Starmer's popularity is lower than Boris Johnson's ever was," he said.

"How long can he go on? How long can he go on with this?"

Eamonn claimed what disgusted him the most about Starmer was "it's all about the stage with him".

"It's all about the show," he said.

"It's all about the hugging, which I can't stand, him hugging Macron. It's all about a global image rather than fixing the problem."