On Thursday the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the French President Emmanuel Macron announced a “one in, one out” deal for migrants that cross the English Channel on small boats.
However, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said they have not yet agreed as to how many migrants will be returned back to France.
There has been reports that 50 migrants would be sent back to France every week.
Cooper told Sky News, “We haven’t fixed the ultimate numbers yet or the progress that we’ll make as it’s a pilot, because it’s right we do this in a step-by-step way, and we trial this and develop it.
We’ll provide updates throughout, we need to get this going, we need to make sure we get this one-for-one agreement that we made with France.”
Starmer said that the scheme will begin in a few weeks, but Cooper stressed setting the number of migrants will be sent back to France is “the right approach because we’re going to make sure that this works”.
She added, “We’re going to make sure that we can increase it.”
Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told Sky News this “not groundbreaking, it is a gimmick.”
Philp added, “Quite clearly, if 94% of illegal immigrants arriving get to stay here, there’s going to be no deterrent effect whatsoever, so it’s not going to work.
And unfortunately, these record-ever numbers of illegal immigrants entering the UK, unfortunately, are set to continue.
