Home Office detains asylum seekers for France flights after scheme ended
Official flights continue under a lapsed agreement, with at least £78m spent on removals to date.
By Sakura Novak ·
The Home Office spent at least £78 million sending asylum seekers to France before the controversial “one in, one out” scheme officially ended. The agreement, which aimed to reduce small boat crossings, concluded on 1 October. Despite the deadline, the government is still detaining dozens of people and flying them across the Channel.
Officials chartered a plane on Wednesday for a group of individuals who arrived on small boats before the scheme ended. A second flight is scheduled for 17 November. Home Office sources confirmed that returns of the remaining cohort are continuing. Freedom of information data shows that seven of the 23 deportation flights between July and September were cancelled. That is more than double the number of cancelled flights to France in the first half of 2026.
Emma Ginn, director of Medical Justice, said vulnerable people are still held in detention centres. She noted that the prospect of imminent return to France compounds the harm of immigration detention. Many asylum seekers have reported facing violence and abuse from smugglers in France.
The scheme has faced criticism for failing to deter crossings as intended. Small boat arrivals have dropped by about 40% this year compared to the same period last year. However, irregular migration to Europe has seen a similar decline over that time. Home Office data recorded 263 people crossing in three boats on Thursday. On Friday, 671 people arrived in nine boats.
At least seven asylum seekers sent to France have returned to the UK since 1 October. Reports indicate several more are waiting in northern France to cross when the weather improves. Two men, one Syrian and one Iranian, are currently having their claims processed in the UK after returning just days after the scheme ended.
The Syrian man said the Home Office initially detained him while searching for a safe third country. They eventually released him because no suitable destination was found. The Iranian man said he planned his return for months because he was beaten and tortured by smugglers in France. He described the life as difficult and said he was too afraid to go outside.
Maddie Harris of the Humans for Rights Network questioned the cost and effectiveness of the policy. She stated that hundreds of millions of pounds were transferred to the French government while people were teargassed on beaches. An asylum seeker in the “Jungle” camp in Dunkirk said five or six others from the scheme are waiting there to cross back. Another 17-year-old man said he was caught by police trying to board a lorry but will keep trying to reach the UK.
