{
  "id": 10998624,
  "title": "UK ends 'one in, one out' migrant returns deal with France",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/uk-ends-one-in-one-out-migrant-returns-deal-with-france",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-30T17:28:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Euronews",
    "slug": "euronews",
    "url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/09/30/uk-ends-one-in-one-out-migrant-returns-deal-with-france"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The UK has ended its one-year-old \"one in, one out\" migration deal with France, the Home Office announced on Wednesday. This program, known as Operation Hillmore, aimed to return migrants who arrived illegally in small boats to France, in exchange for accepting an equal number of asylum seekers from France considered likely to qualify for protection. The scheme, launched in August last year and set to expire on Thursday, has shown limited impact, with only about 4% of migrants arriving in the UK on small boats being returned. Over the past year, 1,087 people were returned to France, while 1,117 were transferred to the UK, despite 27,920 migrants arriving by small boats. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated that returning migrants costs the UK taxpayer an average of £56,000 per person. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office in July, said Brexit had made stopping small boat crossings more difficult due to reduced cooperation with the EU. He vowed to tackle this criminal activity comprehensively, pairing enforcement with the creation of safe legal routes for asylum seekers. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez had previously called for a more European approach to illegal migration, blaming weak controls in first-entry and onward Schengen countries. The Channel crossing has become a major migration pathway, with 197,000 people crossing in small boats since its emergence as a major route.",
  "summary": "Only about 4% of small-boat arrivals were sent back under the year-long pilot, which cost an average of €65,500 per return, as Paris pushes for an EU-wide replacement.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}