Migrants laugh at UK as they pile into Dover just hours after Starmer-Macron deal

More migrants arrived in Dover this morning the day after Sir Keir Starmer announced a new returns deal with France. People wearing life jackets were pictured being brought ashore after making the dangerous journey from France.

The latest small boat arrivals come after the Prime Minister unveiled a one in, one out agreement at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday. Under the pilot scheme, for each migrant sent back across the English Channel an asylum seeker will be allowed to enter the UK from France under a legal route.

Sir Keir said: "There is no silver bullet here, but with a united effort, new tactics and a new level of intent, we can finally turn the tables."

Under the "groundbreaking" pilot scheme, "for the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order".

"In exchange for every return, a different individual will be allowed to come here via a safe route, controlled and legal, subject to strict security checks and only open to those who have not tried to enter the UK illegally."

The Prime Minister said the pilot scheme, which will begin within weeks, "will show others trying to make the same journey that it will be in vain".

During the press conference, Mr Macron took a swipe at Brexit as he blamed Britain's departure from the EU for the spiralling Channel crisis.

The Government has refused to set out figures on how many people will be covered by the proposals.

But reports have suggested it could be just 50 a week which pales in comparison to the weekly average this year of 782 small boat arrivals.

Some 21,117 migrants have made the crossing in 2025 in what is a record for this point in a year.