Conservative response to detentions under the migrant surrender deal

Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said:

“Keir Starmer's promise last year to ‘smash the gangs' has turned out to be nothing more than a gimmick that didn't work, and this is just the same.

“They are detaining a token handful of arrivals and in return we accept unvetted migrants from France. The whole thing is riddled with loopholes, opt-outs and legal escape routes that will make removals near-impossible.

“One clause exempts anyone with a claim certified as ‘clearly unfounded' pending court proceedings, creating a field day for human rights lawyers. Anyone claiming to be under 18 or making a modern slavery claim gets to avoid the scheme too.

“94 per cent of illegal arrivals will still remain in the UK under this deal. How exactly is that supposed to deter anyone?

“For those we accept in return, France will not share any personal data under the agreement. So even if the French government knows the migrant has a criminal record or is an extremist or terrorist, they won't tell us.

“Yvette Cooper is busy declaring victory, but the facts speak for themselves – over 25,000 people have crossed the Channel illegally so far this year, making it the worst year on record, and more than 46,000 since Labour took office.

“Only the Conservatives, under new leadership, have a real plan in in our Deportation Bill. We will deport all illegal arrivals, which is the only way to end the pull factor and will send the message that if you cross the Channel illegally, you will not be allowed to stay. No ifs, no buts.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Measures in the agreement:

• The UK-France agreement does not contain any numbers of how many illegal migrants the UK can send back to France (UK Government, Agreement, 29 July 2025, archived).  

• Article 4(1)(e) says anyone who has made a claim the Home Office has certified as “clearly unfounded” does not get sent back to France, creating a loophole for lawyers to delay removal months or years while lengthy court proceedings take place. ‘France shall readmit, upon application by the United Kingdom and without further formalities to be undertaken by the United Kingdom other than those provided for in this Agreement, relevant Third-Country Nationals, who upon arrival through a dangerous journey, do not, or no longer, fulfil, the conditions for entry to, presence in, or residence in the territory of the United Kingdom, provided that the following criteria are met… the United Kingdom confirms that at the time of their transfer that person will not have an outstanding human rights claim (which shall include a Third Country National with a human rights claim that has been certified under United Kingdom law as clearly unfounded).'

• Article 4(1)(b) says that only an adult or accompanied minor to be eligible to be returned to France. France shall readmit, upon application by the United Kingdom and without further formalities to be undertaken by the United Kingdom other than those provided for in this Agreement, relevant Third-Country Nationals, who upon arrival through a dangerous journey, do not, or no longer, fulfil, the conditions for entry to, presence in, or residence in the territory of the United Kingdom, provided that the following criteria are met… the United Kingdom confirms that at the time of their removal they will be determined by authorised officers to be an adult or an accompanied minor.'

• Labour's Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill would repeal the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 and repealing most of the Illegal Migration Act 2023. The repeals to the Illegal Migration Act include:

o    Removing the duty on the Home Secretary to make arrangements to remove persons to their home country or a safe third country who entered or arrived in the UK illegally.

o    Allowing illegal migrants to obtain British citizenship.

o    Asylum seekers will no longer be treated as over 18 if they refuse to take a scientific age assessment (UK Parliament, Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, 30 January 2025, link).

• Article 9 says that the UK will have to accept migrants back if a court of tribunal finds the original transfer (to France) was unlawful or orders that the individual to be transferred back. ‘If, after an individual to whom this Chapter II applies has been transferred, and either of the following circumstances arise, the Parties shall cooperate and take all reasonable steps to arrange the transfer of the individual back to the territory of the other Party: a. a court or tribunal in a final determination (ie one where the time to appeal a decision has expired without an appeal being lodged or where no further appeal is possible) finds the original transfer executed under this Agreement was unlawful in that particular individual's circumstances; b. a court or tribunal orders that the individual is transferred back.'

• Article 11 says that the UK will pay to send everyone back to France. ‘All transport costs incurred in connection with readmission pursuant to this Agreement shall be borne by the United Kingdom up until handover points.'

• Article 16 says France will not give us any data on the people they are sending to the UK. ‘For the avoidance of any doubt, under no circumstances shall personal data be transferred from France to the United Kingdom.'

• 2025 has been the worst year ever for small boat crossings with over 25,000 people crossing the Channel this year alone. Since Labour entered government, over 48,000 people have crossed the Channel, leaving Labour's ‘smash the gang' policy in tatters. (Home Office, Small Boat Arrivals, 04 August 2025, link).

o   Under this Labour Government, we are on track for 50,000 illegal immigrants to cross the Channel in 2025 alone. Analysis from The Times, using similar modelling as previous Border Force methods to estimate future arrivals, has forecast that a total 50,000 crossings will be made in 2025 (The Times, 2 June 2025, link).

o   Keir Starmer's only idea to stop the small boats crisis will see just 50 migrants returned to France each week, equating to a '17 in, 1 out' deal. Keir Starmer has agreed to return one illegal immigrant for every 17 that enter the country, equating to France taking back just 800 illegal immigrants against 44,000 who have entered the country since Labour won the General Election last year (The Telegraph, 10 July 2025, link).

•  The ex-head of border force says the one-in-one-out deal with France won't make a dent. TONY SMITH: We've got this fantastic new breakthrough with France. [….] You know, they're going to start taking boat people back and I'm really, really worried actually that that is going to be the same thing. They're going get a load of spinner ash, it's not going to make a dent in the problem that we're all facing. (TalkTV, Morning Glory with Mike Graham, 27 June 2025, archived)

• Removals of small boats arrivals are down since the last quarter under the Conservatives – Labour are only removing 5 per cent of arrivals. 2024 Q3 – 572 small boat removals compared to 11,755 small boat arrivals. 2024 Q4 - 588 compared to 11,572 arrivals. 2025 Q1 - 482 compared to 6,642 arrivals (Home Office, Accredited Official Statistics, 22 May 2025, link).

• The number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels is still higher than when the Conservative Government left office. The number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels by 31 March 2025 was 32,345. The number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels by June 2024 was 29,585 (Home Office, Accredited Official Statistics, 22 May 2025, link).

• The National Crime Agency said stopping Channel migrants is ‘not possible without Rwanda-style scheme'. The National Crime Agency said: ‘They just keep popping up – all you need is a phone and a dinghy which aren't illegal items. The NCA position is that you need an effective removals and deterrence agreement,' the law enforcement source added. ‘No country has ever stopped people trafficking upstream in foreign countries – the Australians have done it but that was with a deportation scheme' (The Daily Telegraph, 12 September 2023, link). 

• Former Chief Immigration Officer, who retired in 2016, Kevin Saunders, said a big deterrent is needed to stop migrant crossings. Speaking to Sky News, Saunders said: ‘What the United Kingdom actually needs is a big deterrent and everybody has told the Prime Minister this. You need a big deterrent to stop the migrants. Forget about the gangs, if you stop the migrants wanting to come to the UK, the gangs won't exist' (Sky News, 4 November 2024, link).

• The Conservatives would pass the Deportation Bill – a bold, no-nonsense plan to take back control of our borders and fix the broken immigration system. The measures include automatically deporting anyone who arrives in the country illegally, disapplying the Human Rights Act from all immigration-related matters, doubling the residency requirement for Indefinite Leave to Remain from five to ten years, and introducing a legally binding Parliament-voted annual cap on migration (Independent, 6 May 2025, link). 

• Labour are effectively cutting the Home Office budget, with average annual real-terms growth slashed by 2.2 per cent. The Total Departmental Expenditure Limits of the Home Office between 2023-24 to 2028-29 mean that average annual real-terms growth slashed by 2.2 per cent (HMT,Spending Review, 11 June 2025, link).

• Rachel Reeves pledged to end the use of asylum hotels by 2029, saving the taxpayer £1 billion per year. REEVES: ‘Funding that I have provided today, including from the Transformation Fund, will cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases, and return people who have no right to be here, saving the taxpayer £1 billion per year' (Spending Review, 11 June 2025, archived).

• This raises questions of where these illegal migrants will be moved to instead, most likely to social housing instead. Whilst the Chancellor promised to end the use of asylum hotels, they will most likely be moved into social housing – which received an uplift of £39 billion over the next decade (HMT, Spending Review 2025, 11 June 2025, link).