FIRST MIGRANTS DETAINED UNDER FRANCE DEAL – They will be held in immigration removal centres before being returned to France
The first migrants have been detained as part of the UK-France returns deal. Video shows a UK Border Force boat ferrying migrants, including children, into the Port of Dover on the day the pilot scheme came into force.
The Home Office said those who arrived on Wednesday afternoon would be held in immigration removal centres before being returned to France.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said: “We have detained the first illegal migrants under our new deal before returning them to France. If you break the law to enter this country, you will face being sent back. When I say I will stop at nothing to secure our borders, I mean it.”
Britain ratified a treaty with France which means those entering the UK on a small boat can now be detained on arrival and returned across the Channel.It is believed that about 50 migrants will be returned to France each week, with the numbers expected to climb by the end of the year.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, said the “first group of people to cross the Channel were detained after they arrived at Western Jet Foil and will now be held in detention until they can be returned to France”.
