LABOUR was last night accused of signing up to a “migrant merry-go-round” with France.
Ministers are expected to reach a “one in, one-out” returns deal with the French in a bid to deter small boats.
The agreement would see France take back Channel crossers in return for the UK accepting a legitimate asylum seeker with family already here.
Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to turn the tide on a record year of small boats after promising to “smash the gangs” in the election.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and her French counterpart Bruno Retailleau believe the returns plan would break the business model of the criminals.
According to a government official, the initiative will begin as a trial run, aiming to demonstrate that individuals who pay for their journey on a boat could end up back in France swiftly.
But Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded the proposals a “gimmick”.
In response, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticized the current approach, highlighting that the UK pays substantial amounts to France to deter boats in Calais. However, the result is a cycle of migrants continuing to arrive in the UK.
Philp emphasized that the French authorities are not effectively intercepting boats at sea or repatriating them like the Belgians do. Instead of pushing for stricter enforcement measures, the Labour party is exploring a ‘one in, one out’ strategy, which Philp dismissed as a mere gimmick.
