Migrant who returned to UK after removal sent back to France

This year has seen a rise in asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats compared to last year - this file photo was taken in Gravelines, France in August

A migrant who returned to the UK by small boat less than a month after being removed to France under the "one-in, one out" scheme has been removed again.

Home Office sources said a returns flight on Wednesday morning included the man who was removed on 19 September, before he returned to the UK on 18 October.

The Iranian man claimed to have been a victim of modern slavery at the hands of smuggling gangs in France.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the man's case had been expedited after he was detected by biometrics and detained. She added: "Anyone looking to return to the UK after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money.

"My message is clear: if you try to return to the UK you will be sent back. I will do whatever it takes to scale up removals of illegal migrants and secure our borders."

The man, who has not been named, previously told the Guardian he returned to the UK because he feared for his life in France.

Speaking about his alleged treatment at the hands of smugglers, he said: "They took me like a worthless object, forced me to work, abused me, and threatened me with a gun and told me I would be killed if I made the slightest protest."

So far, 94 migrants have been removed from the UK as part of the treaty in which the UK agrees to take in asylum seekers who have a case for protection and have not attempted to cross the Channel illegally.

Under the scheme, 57 people have come to the UK from France.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch previously said the case showed the government was "in total chaos", adding in an X post that it was "too weak to take the tough decisions to secure our borders".

Maddie Harris, director of Humans for Rights Network, previously told BBC News her organisation had been in contact with the Iranian man.

She said he was experiencing "acute fear" after his first removal from the UK due to his treatment by smugglers.

"While in France he experienced horrendous treatment at the hands of the people who are organising journeys to the UK," she said.

The government has been under pressure to tackle the issue of illegal migration, amid a rise in arrivals during 2025.

As of 21 October, 36,734 people had arrived in the UK by small boat this year,

The figure was 8,530 more than on the same date in 2024, but 869 lower than at the same point in 2022, which was the highest year on record.

Along with the UK-France treaty, the government has also pledged to end the use of asylum hotels, which have cost billions of pounds and become a focal point for recent anti-migrant protests.

Under the previous Conservative government, plans for the UK to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda were passed by parliament but faced numerous legal challenges.

Four people were sent there before the scheme was ended by the current Labour government.