Refugee Crisis

MIGRANTS arriving in Britain by small boat were immediately detained yesterday under the new “one in, one out” deal with France.

The first to be held under the pilot scheme were picked up in Dover on Wednesday – just hours after the new treaty kicked in.

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Photos showed arrivals in life jackets being led off Border Force vessels at the Western Jet Foil facility.

An unspecified number were held on the spot and taken to immigration removal centres — with swift deportation to France now expected.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Yesterday, under the terms of this groundbreaking new treaty, the first group of people to cross the Channel were detained after their arrival at Western Jet Foil and will now be held in detention until they can be returned to France.

“That sends a message to every migrant currently thinking of paying organised crime gangs to go to the UK that they will be risking their lives and throwing away their money if they get into a small boat.”

The Home Office says it will not be disclosing figures at this stage for fear it would be exploited by smugglers.

But just around 50 people a week are expected to be returned under the deal,  a tiny number compared to the 25,436 who have already crossed this year.

LABOUR’s migrant deal with France is already unravelling — as dinghies keep crossing and confusion erupts over how it is meant to work.

Just days after the “one-in, one-out” scheme came into force, footage shared by the Tories shows French warships escorting small boats packed with migrants across the Channel.

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Ministers are also at odds how the deal is even meant to work, with conflicting statements on whether deportations can go ahead if migrants lodge human rights claims.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, filming off Calais, said: “I’m on the Channel today just off Calais to see if the Government’s new deal with France is working. It isn’t.

“There is a boat full of illegal immigrants crossing right in front of me.

“The French warship is escorting it and & making no attempt at all to stop it.”

At the same time, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy sparked fresh confusion by claiming migrants removed under the scheme could still have their human rights claims heard – but in France.

Asked whether human rights claims presented a loophole to the returns deal, she told Sky News: “That’s not the case at all … the deal that we’ve struck will allow people with us to send people back to France who have human rights claims.

“Those claims will be heard in France.

“I know that the Conservative Party has been saying that this is a loophole. It isn’t and we’re really confident about that.”

But the terms of scheme published on Tuesday suggest the opposite.

It states that the UK confirms that at the time of their transfer that person will not have an outstanding human rights claim.

And it also makes clear France will not participate in UK legal proceedings.

The Tories also argue the wording opens the door for lawyers to delay or block removals with last-minute claims.

But Home Office officials insist have they prepared for judicial review challenges against certification of a human rights decisions to be heard by UK courts from France.

Ministers hope the new route –  where migrants in France apply online – will offer a “safe and legal” alternative to the boats.

But those who have already crossed are not eligible, meaning thousands already here won’t be affected.

Only around 50 people a week are expected to be returned under the deal, which would equate to only one in every 17 small boat arrivals.

The new legal route to Britain only applies to people already in France who have not tried to cross illegally.

To qualify, they must apply online and prove they have close family in the UK, come from a country that is likely to get asylum, or are at risk of being trafficked or exploited.

Unaccompanied children, people with criminal records, and anyone who has previously been deported from the UK are banned from applying.

The deal also reveals that Britain is picking up the tab for both directions of travel – paying for the transport of migrants we send back to France and those we bring in legally.

Alp Mehmet from Migration Watch told The Sun: “This Starmer/Macron wheeze has zero chance of working. It won’t discourage migrants, while smugglers will be tempted to pile in even more people into flimsy vessels. It will have the opposite effect to the one intended.”

The deal will remain in force until June 2026 – but the legal route can be paused automatically if France slows down on taking people back.

Despite Labour’s promise to stop the boats, this year is already on track for a record number of arrivals.

More than 25,000 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats so far in 2025 – up 49 per cent on the same point last year.

PEOPLE smugglers who advertise Channel Crossings or try to flog fake passports online face up to five years in prison, under a new crackdown.

The Home Office is scrambling to beef up their laws after a record 25,000 illegal migrants landed on Britain’s beaches so far this year.

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The grim milestone piles massive pressure on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper – who has vowed to “smash the gangs” and stop the boats.

But the Government has been accused of woefully failing to restore control to UK borders.

Ministers will introduce a new criminal offence under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill already going through Parliament.

This will make it a crime to publish material which promotes breaking immigration laws – like flogging small boat crossings, dodgy passports and visas or promising black market work.

These things are already illegal, but ministers say the new law will help beef up the power of the cops and prosecutors.

Anyone caught flouting the law faces five years behind bars or a massive fine.

Ms Cooper said: “Selling the false promise of a safe journey to the UK and a life in this country – whether on or offline – simply to make money, is nothing short of immoral.

“These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them – wherever they operate.

“We have to stay one step ahead of the ever-evolving tactics of people-smuggling gangs.”

A staggering 80 per cent of migrants arriving on small boats used social media sites like TikTok to plan their journey, according to the Home Office.

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MIGRANT hotel residents have been spotted laughing while they video protesters and counter-demonstrators clash.

People believed to be asylum seekers inside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel, in Islington, waved and blew kisses at protesters in the street below.

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The protest outside the north London hotel was sparked today, while another demonstration will also take place in Newcastle outside The New Bridge Hotel.

The Metropolitan Police said the display was organised by local residents under the banner “Thistle Barbican needs to go – locals say no”.

Online groups called Patriots of Britain and Together for the Children have voiced their support for the demonstration.

A counter-protest, created by Stand Up To Racism, has also unfolded.

On student involved said he wants migrants to “feel safe” in the UK.

Pat Prendergast, 21, said: “I want people to feel safe. I think the (rival protesters) over there are making people feel unsafe.

“I want to stand up in solidarity and say that, you know, we want people here.

“We want migrants. We want asylum seekers.”

Meanwhile people against the hotel being used for migrants shouted “get these scum off our streets”, while waving England flags.

A large group of masked protesters dressed in black and chanted “we are anti-fascist”.

A man donning an England football shirt was also arrested by police after an aggressive altercation with officers.

There were clashes before cops separate the two groups.

Chief Superintendent Clair Haynes, in charge of the policing operation, said: “We have been in discussions with the organisers of both protests in recent days, building on the ongoing engagement between local officers, community groups and partners.

“We understand that there are strongly held views on all sides.

“Our officers will police without fear or favour, ensuring those exercising their right to protest can do so safely, but intervening at the first sign of actions that cross the line into criminality.

“We have used our powers under the Public Order Act to put conditions in place to prevent serious disorder and to minimise serious disruption to the lives of people and businesses in the local community.

“Those conditions identify two distinct protest areas where the protests must take place, meaning the groups will be separated but still within sight and sound of each other.”

In a statement, the organisers of the counter protest said: “Yet again far-right and fascist thugs are intent on bringing their message of hate to Newcastle.

“They aim to build on years of Islamophobia, anti-migrant sentiment and scapegoating.

“In Epping and elsewhere recently we have already seen intimidation and violence aimed at refugees, migrants and asylum seekers.

“Newcastle, like the rest of the North East, has a well-earned reputation for unity in the face of those who seek to divide us.

“Whatever problems we face, racism and division are not the answer.”

More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online

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PEOPLE smugglers are using women and children as human shields in a diversion tactic to get past French police – before mostly men make it onto a dinghy.

Families with young babies and kids were put at the front of the queue of migrants entering the vast beach from the sand dunes in Gravelines, near Calais, yesterday with young men trailing behind.

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The diversionary tactics meant the 40 police officers, armed and waiting with pepper spray and tear gas, remained calm and did not use force against the group straight away to avoid injuring the children.

Instead, officers kettled the group and successfully marched them off back into the sand dunes.

But, when the time was right and the police thought they had taken the group off the beach, a group of mostly men suddenly sprinted off into the sand dunes before making a break for it back onto the beach.

Most of the migrants with children did not return to the beach.

It comes after senior Labour minister Darren Jones was slammed after suggesting on BBC’s Question Time that the majority of migrants entering by small boats that he had seen were women and children.

A dramatic cat and mouse game followed yesterday with tear gas being fired over Gravelines beach in an attempt to keep migrants away from the sea.

But they failed to stop a nearby dinghy from picking up the migrants and it left for British shores with mostly men on board.

It comes after official figures showed that more than 919 people crossed the Channel in small boats on Friday on 14 dinghies – averaging around 66 people per boat.

It has taken the provisional annual total to 16,183, which is 42 per cent higher than the same point last year and 79 per cent up on the same date in 2023.

The highest daily number so far this year was 1,195 on May 31.

APPROACHING British passport control, a mum grips her young daughter’s hand nervously.

She fidgets with the documents they hope will fool airport officials into letting them through.

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With her eyes darting nervously and head hung low, it doesn’t take long for border control officers at Manchester airport to clock something is not quite right.

And on closer examination, it is clear the paperwork is forged.

Immediately, they are blocked from entering the UK.

But while this mum and daughter failed, there are plenty more queuing up to take their place — and the majority are Iranians, cops believe.

And far from risking death in treacherous boat journeys across the Channel, these chancers are prepared to pay £20,000 for a forged document pack enabling them to travel to the UK from airports all over Europe.

Many will get through — mysteriously disappearing once they have conned their way through customs.

Or they will dump their forged or stolen documents and immediately head to the closest immigration office to beg for asylum.

But on this occasion, Greater Manchester Police were called and an investigation — named Operation Alfriston — was quickly formed.

Its aim is to discover who these ruthless smuggling gangs are and how they operate across the UK.

This week The Sun was invited to watch as cops smashed down doors and arrested the crooks they believed had been trafficking untold numbers of illegal immigrants into Britain.

At 6am yesterday, 129 GMP police officers, alongside seven immigration compliance and enforcement officers, stormed 15 different addresses.

They arrested eight men, between the ages of 18 and 52, and two women, aged 32 and 43, all allegedly involved in a conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law by assisting illegal entry into the UK.

If charged and found guilty, each member could face life in prison for their role in the smuggling ring.

‘I think we’re just scraping the surface’

The arrests took place in Greater Manchester — Bolton, Sale, Bramhall, Salford, Leigh and Cheadle — and Cricklewood, North London.

We saw cops from the Tactical Aid Unit shatter a glass door and then break down an internal one to enter a property in Bolton.

They alerted the occupants to their arrival with shouts of “police” as they marched inside in full protective gear.

Greater Manchester Police’s Head of Intel, Detective Chief Superintendent John Griffith, told The Sun: “Tackling immigration crime has become a priority for us. With the arrests yesterday morning, I think we’re just scraping the surface.

“By focusing on gathering intelligence on the infrastructure around how people are entering the UK illegally, hopefully we can deter other people from doing it.”

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Often people who are smuggled into the UK will end up working for little money at businesses such as car washes, nail bars and hairdressers. DCS Griffith, who has a background in counter terrorism, added: “These people are hugely vulnerable.

“If you can imagine some of the travelling conditions that they will have faced across Europe when coming into the UK — to put up with that, there must be a real desire to get here.

“That desire often transfers into a willingness to pay a lot of money to individuals to facilitate that entry, irrespective of the success of that entry or not.

“There are numerous individuals who have paid these facilitators and actually have never arrived in the UK, but continue to engage with them and pay them just for the attraction of coming here.”

Not long before Christmas last year, the ringleader of an organised crime gang dealing with migrants was picked up at the airport and flagged to police.

At the time, he was not arrested. Instead, cops gathered intelligence so that when they struck, they could take out all the key players.

While this is technically smuggling, it sits in a grey area that shares characteristics with modern slavery.

Justine Carter

The crook did most of his communications in the Persian language Farsi, adding a stumbling block for the team of 12 police officers.

For fake documents or stolen identities and paperwork to enter the UK via an airport, the group was charging around £20,000.

Investigation leader Detective Chief Inspector Tim Berry told The Sun: “Our main suspect, who is actively involved in facilitating people into the UK, is generally using false documents of various nationalities.

“To do that he needs a number of people around him to facilitate and support with various elements, such as supplying false documents, booking travel, moving monies — that kind of thing.

“We know that he’s offering the full package for around £20,000. It’s that profit that motivates organised crime gangs to do this kind of work.”

The Manchester force has spent thousands of man hours to identify all the key players in the group, with their tentacles extending as far as Cricklewood.

Police believe most of the people who have paid the extortionate fee to travel safely through the air, rather than crammed on a small boat in the Channel, are of Iranian nationality.

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But not all the fake documents work, meaning the holders are turned away at the border and sent back to the country they have flown in from.

The process of sorting what is sold as safe passage to the UK requires a team of people.

DCI Berry explained: “We have evidence of travel booked by travel agents and our view is that they’re doing that knowing that they’re acting illegally, rather than blindly.

“We’ve also arrested people involved in money exchange services because you have to move money across Europe to pay for these documents.

“A lot of the people arrested fall into the logistics and facilitating category rather than being the organiser.”

‘Exploitation isn’t always visible or physical’

But things could be more sinister than just people smuggling — it is possible that the gang is also going on to exploit the people it has helped to enter the country illegally.

This would fall under modern slavery, where illegal immigrants are forced to work long hours for low pay or be exploited sexually to pay off their debt.

DCS Griffiths said: “Modern slavery in organised immigration crime is interlinked significantly. For me, organised immigration crime is the primary offence.

“People are coming into the country illegally, and we need to stop that collectively through our police action and partnership action.

“But once people are here, they are tied into the country through debt bondage.

“They get pulled into the grey economy as gangs exploiting these people either utilise their labour or engage them even further in criminal enterprise.

‘Ahead of the curve’

“This would be criminality such as drug supply and cannabis farms and other sorts of premises where crimes can be undertaken.”

Traditionally, immigration offences were dealt with by the National Crime Agency, Border Force and immigration enforcement officers.

But with the flood of illegal migrants by boat and other entry points, local police have been asked to step in too.

DCI Berry said: “In recent years, there’s been a real push from the Home Office and from the National Crime Agency for police forces to improve their response to organised immigration crime.

“I would like to think as a force that we’re actually fairly ahead of the curve because we have a dedicated team.

“We absolutely do look to take this work on and we’re still developing an understanding about our work from an intelligence point of view.

“But wherever we get opportunities to investigate this, we will do — because we recognise the risks around it and the vulnerabilities and the harm that can be caused by it.”

Justine Carter, director of strategy and business services at anti-modern slavery group Unseen, said: “While this is technically smuggling, it sits in a grey area that shares characteristics with modern slavery.

“These cases typically involve recruitment, movement, deception, and significant financial exploitation, which can often lead to debt bondage and long-term vulnerability.

“Even without forced labour, the legal threshold for trafficking may still be met if the acts, means and purpose are present.

“In these cases, the purpose is not labour or sexual exploitation, but financial gain through the exploitation of vulnerable people.

“It’s a reminder that exploitation isn’t always visible or physical — it can be economic and deeply systemic.”

The ten people arrested are being interviewed under suspicion of conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law, assisting illegal entry into the country by non-UK nationals in breach of immigration law, conspiracy to money launder and participating in the activities of organised crime.

BRITS struggling to live have “every right to be angry” about illegal migrants getting cushy hotel rooms, Nigel Farage said yesterday.

The Reform leader hailed The Sun’s front page for laying bare the crippling cost of asylum accommodation.

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We told the case of Stuart Whittaker – a former factory worker from Hull who is now homeless – feeling he had been “shoved to the back of the queue”.

Downing Street yesterday admitted it was “absolutely not” fair that locals like him are sofa-surfing while taxpayers fork out for migrant hotels.

Also addressing the story in Port Talbot, Mr Farage said: “What I tell your man from Hull, is he has every right to be upset.

“Every right to be angry.

“Just don’t say anything on social media or Keir Starmer will put you in prison.”

He said that while legal migration has a bigger strain on public services, it is the “sheer unfairness of these young men” coming across the Channel illegally that rubs people up.

The cost of paying for asylum support has ballooned to around £4.7billion annually, and around 15,000 migrants have arrived from France this year already.

Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said: “It’s not fair that tens of thousands of people are stuck in an asylum backlog that’s wasting billions of pounds of taxpayers money, and that’s why we’re focused on taking the action needed to reduce the number of asylum seekers and hotels.”

Minister Chris Bryant yesterday insisted that the “best deterrent” against small boats was processing asylum claims quicker.

He was slammed by Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, who said: “This is dangerous nonsense from a weak Labour Government.

“Giving illegal immigrants asylum faster is no deterrent – it will just attract even more to come here.

“A real deterrent would be removing every single illegal immigrant who arrives in the UK to somewhere like Rwanda.”

No forgiving a Brexit betrayal

WILL today go down in history as the day Sir Keir Starmer betrayed Brexit and the British people?

From the moment he entered No10, or Remainiac Prime Minister — who spent years in Opposition trying to reverse the historic 2016 vote — has been hellbent on securing a so-called “reset” with the EU.

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His approach to the negotiations with Brussels has been naive at best, and craven at worst.

Indeed, the message his public desperation sent to the hard-nosed Eurocrats was “I want a deal at any price, so shaft me”.

The vengeful EU — which will never get over Brexit, and cannot stand the idea of us being a sovereign nation again — duly obliged.

Its list of demands, in return for a defence partnership, a sop on passport queues and the simple lifting of some spiteful checks on British food exports, would put a mafia extortionist to shame.

Through a series of snide anonymous briefings (the EU’s tactic of choice for decades), we know it expects to agree the following at today’s Lancaster House talks:

Britain to slavishly adhere to every pettifogging Brussels edict on standards, a straitjacket known as “dynamic alignment” which would make trade deals with the rest of world far harder.

Subservience to the over-mighty, expansionist European Court of Justice.

Generous access to our fishing waters for mostly French vessels for ever more, undermining a core reason why millions voted Leave.

Bundles of cash to once again be paid into the EU’s coffers for participation in its various programmes and schemes.

Most unbelievably, a “youth mobility scheme” for anyone under 35 – yes, 35! – which would restore free movement by the back door, and give 80 MILLION EU citizens the chance to live and work here.

So much for getting a grip on runaway immigration.

And what has Sir Keir’s response been to all of this?

He and his Chancellor have effectively said bring it on, and that this is just the start of a much deeper future partnership with the EU.

We remind them both of two things, before they sit down to formally ink this seemingly wretched surrender deal.

First, the best economic days of the EU are long behind it — look at the state of the German and French economies.

Britain should be looking to do ambitious trade deals beyond Europe — indeed the new partnership with India, and the recent easing of US tariffs were only possible because of Brexit.

Not tying our hands and alienating allies like Donald Trump.

And, second, the British people voted nine years ago to take back control of our money, borders and laws.

If the PM hands all of this back over to Brussels today, he will not be forgiven.