Small boat migrants will be detained for return to France 'in a matter of days'

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said small boat arrivals will be detained to be returned to France "in a matter of days".

Ms Cooper said people who cross the Channel will be taken into custody "immediately on arrival". A new one-in-one-out deal - the first agreement to return migrants to France since Brexit - will come into force on Wednesday.

Ms Cooper told Sky News: "The first step will be to be detaining people because people will be detained until they are removed to France. And we expect those detentions to start in a matter of days." It comes after The Mirror’s Kevin Maguire wrote: 'Labour must find engaging story for the UK - or face election wipeout'.

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Describing the deal - which is starting as a year-long pilot scheme - she said: "It will start with the numbers being lower and then we'll build up. But I think this is really important - the groundbreaking principle here is that people can be returned to France if they arrive on these dangerous and illegal small boats.

"In return, we will take people who have applied legally through a legal process and been through security checks. But we should be returning people who have made these illegal crossings."

The Home Secretary refused to be drawn on the numbers who would be involved in the exchange deal. It has been reported that around 50 people will be sent back to France each week - but the Government has refused to confirm this.

Ms Cooper said: "We don't want to provide operational information for criminal gangs who will then use it if they think there are particular numbers of people who are going to be detained on particular days. They will then use that and operate their boats and their gang operations around that, and that's not what we're prepared to tolerate."

She said: "I think the principle which says, frankly, if you arrive here on a small boat, you have paid thousands of pounds to a criminal people smuggler, you should be being returned. That money should be lost."

Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron reached the agreement last month during Mr Macron's state visit to the UK. It was agreed the scheme would begin as a pilot and is the first returns deal struck with France since Britain left the European Union.

Starmer said: “This government has been fixing the foundations of the broken asylum system we inherited and today we send a clear message – if you come here illegally on a small boat you will face being sent back to France. This is the product of months of grown-up diplomacy delivering real results for British people as we broker deals no government has been able to achieve and strike at the heart of these vile gangs’ business model.

“The days of gimmicks and broken promises are over – we will restore order to our borders with the seriousness and competence the British people deserve.”

Ministers have previously declined to say how many migrants could be returned. But reports have suggested the pilot will be capped at 50 a week - around 2,600 each year.

On Monday the Home Office also announced a £100million boost to border security to pay for up to 300 additional National Crime Agency Officers. The cash will also fund a pilot of the ‘one-in, one-out’ returns deal with France.

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