Exclusive: At least four people have travelled back to the UK by lorry in the last two weeks
Asylum seekers who arrived in the UK in small boats and were forcibly returned to France under the controversial “one in, one out” deal have returned to the UK in lorries, the Guardian has learned.
When asked about the recent returnees, the Home Office said that people who came back to the UK after removal to France were detained and returned to France at the earliest opportunity. Amnesty International UK has called for “one in, one out” to be scrapped.
The Guardian is aware of at least four returnees who travelled back to the UK by lorry in the last two weeks. Two, who came in separate lorries on 5 March and 7 March, are now back in a detention centre. Both said they were returned forcibly to the UK by smugglers who want to try to break the “one in, one out” scheme, which involves one person who crosses the Channel in a small boat being sent back to France in exchange for another in northern France being brought to the UK legally.
The other two “one in, one out” returnees came in a lorry on 12 March as part of a larger group whose backgrounds are not known. They are understood to currently be in London living under the radar.
