Flights to France begin as UK kicks off migrant swap plan

Cabinet minister Peter Kyle says the Government has been “doing everything we can” to tackle Channel crossings, even though more than 31,000 people have arrived this year. As part of a deal with Paris, chartered Air France flights are due to take off this week.

The plan, announced over a month ago, involves sending around 100 people who came across the Channel back to France, while bringing in a similar number who applied legally to come to the UK. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hopes the arrangement will undercut the smuggling gangs profiting from the crossings.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Kyle said: “We’re straining at the bit to get a grip on the migration crisis we inherited off the Tories”, reported the Sun.

Officials have also put up posters in northern France warning would-be migrants that anyone boarding a small boat risks being deported.

Around 100 people are already being held at Harmondsworth, the immigration removal centre near Heathrow. They have been issued with formal removal notices, though lawyers are preparing to fight the deportations in court.

In France, asylum seekers can now use an online form to register their interest in coming to the UK through the scheme. British taxpayers are footing the bill for transport on both sides.

The Government hopes this back-and-forth arrangement will show there is a safer, controlled alternative to dangerous Channel crossings, while also sending a warning to people smugglers. But with legal challenges looming and more boats still making the journey, ministers face a tough test in proving the system can deliver real change.