The Government’s “one in, one out” deal to return people to France in a bid to tackle Channel crossings is set to begin. The treaty was laid in Parliament on Tuesday (August 5), and will take effect from Wednesday (August 6) with detentions expected in the coming days.

The UK-France deal, which will also bring approved asylum seekers under a safe route to Britain, was agreed last month on the last day of French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to the UK.

Here is a closer look at the plan and what the issue is.

What is the concern over the Channel crossings?

Some 25,436 people have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel this year – a record for this point in the year since data began being collected in 2018. This is up 48 per cent on this point last year (17,170) an

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