The United Kingdom continued sending asylum seekers to France after its return scheme ended Oct. 1, with dozens still detained and another removal flight scheduled, The Guardian reported.
The Guardian said a charter flight carried a group to France on Wednesday. The newspaper reported that officials believed the people had reached Britain in small boats before the scheme closed. Home Office sources told the Guardian that removals involving people in the remaining cohort continued after the arrangement ended.
Dozens remain in detention ahead of possible removal, the report said. It said a second flight is scheduled for Nov. 17.
The scheme was announced in July 2025 with the aim of deterring small-boat crossings, according to the Guardian. Under the arrangement, Britain could return some people who arrived by boat to France, while a similar number of asylum seekers in northern France could travel to the UK through a legal route.
The Guardian said evidence to a recent parliamentary committee placed removal costs at a minimum of £78 million. It also reported that repeat returns added to the expense.
Emma Ginn, director of Medical Justice, said vulnerable asylum seekers were still being held before forced removal. Ginn said fear of return added to the strain of detention, citing asylum seekers’ accounts of violence and abuse by smugglers in France. The next flight is scheduled for Nov. 17, the Guardian reported.
