Starmer’s migrant returns deal collapses before it even begins

Keir Starmer promised a bold plan to return migrants to France but so far it has completely fallen apart. Back in July, at the Anglo French summit, the Prime Minister stood alongside Emmanuel Macron and unveiled what he called a “groundbreaking” one in one out returns deal. It was supposed to be a tough new approach. In reality, not a single migrant has been sent back.

At the time, insiders quietly admitted the numbers would be tiny. As few as 50 people might be flown back across the Channel. Even that figure now looks generous. The first test flight was scheduled for Monday 16 September.

Just one migrant was meant to be put on an Air France passenger plane from Heathrow to Paris. That flight never left. Charities threatened legal action and the government quickly backed down. Starmer folded the moment the protests began, reported the Express.

Campaigners bombarded the airline with calls, emails and social media posts, telling them not to take part in deportations. Lawyers have been giving migrants detailed advice on how to challenge removals. The Home Office has left them plenty of time to lodge objections.

Many are expected to rely on Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to family life, even if it means claiming links to distant relatives in Britain. Others may argue that being sent back could worsen their mental health.

Meanwhile the numbers coming across the Channel keep climbing. More than 31,000 people have already arrived in small boats this year, risking their lives on a dangerous stretch of sea. Yet the government has not managed to send even one person back.

Only weeks ago Starmer pledged that “Migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order.” That promise is already in tatters. Reform UK’s Nigel Farage says he predicted this exact outcome. He warned from the start that attempts to deport migrants would be blocked in court.

“If we even try to deport people across the Channel we will run straight into the European Convention on Human Rights as written into British law, in the human rights act. The lawyers will have a field day and will find lots of reasons why people can’t be deported,” he said.

The government now says another flight is planned for today with the same migrant who was meant to be on yesterday’s cancelled trip. But given the chaos so far, few believe it will actually happen.

The episode is a major embarrassment for a Prime Minister who set out to look tough on illegal immigration. Instead, his much vaunted deal with France has been exposed as empty words. With crossings still rising and legal obstacles mounting, the chances of the returns policy ever getting off the ground look slim.