CHANNEL — A "one in, one out" agreement between the UK and France regarding cross-Channel migration is scheduled to conclude in October, according to French media reports. A French interior ministry source stated the agreement will not be extended beyond October.

A Home Office spokesperson said the government's agreement with France has been extended until the autumn, ensuring continued removals of migrants arriving on small boats over the summer. The deal, announced by Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron during Macron's state visit to the UK last July, permits the forcible return of asylum seekers who arrive in the UK via small boats to France. In return, asylum seekers in France who have not attempted a Channel crossing are legally brought to the UK.

Between last September and June 9, 921 asylum seekers were returned to France under the agreement, while 896 asylum seekers were brought to the UK legally during the same period. The policy was amended this month to enable France to accept some asylum seekers who have returned to the UK by lorry. Between June 15 and June 22, 1,939 asylum seekers arrived in the UK on small boats.

Doctors Without Borders condemned the scheme as "a cynical bargaining over human lives." The organization provides assistance to individuals sent back to France and has reported cases of acute stress disorder and disorientation among them. An action plan announced by the European Commission on June 18 is intended to replace the bilateral approach between the UK and France for asylum seekers crossing the Channel. The Home Office welcomed this EU Channel action plan, stating that it establishes a more coordinated EU-level response to Channel crossings.