The Conservatives have blasted a ‘pathetic’ plan being drawn up by Labour to send small boat migrants back to France in exchange for other types of asylum seekers.
Ministers are reported to be on the cusp of announcing a deal with president Emmanuel Macron’s government which would see France accept returns of Channel migrants for the first time.
But for each migrant returned back across the Channel the UK would accept another asylum seeker in a ‘one in, one out’ exchange, it is understood.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded it ‘pathetic’ and said Labour should never have scrapped the previous government’s Rwanda asylum scheme, which was designed to deter Channel crossings.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce the new agreement within days, in the run-up to the first anniversary of Labour’s return to power, which falls a week tomorrow.
