More than 400 migrants brought to shore at Dover
The government's "one in, one out" pilot will see the UK able to return some migrants arriving at Dover to France, in exchange for receiving the same number of asylum seekers from France who are believed to have a legitimate claim to come to the UK. The numbers involved in the scheme are initially expected to be small, with the first returns due to happen within weeks.
A decade of small boat migrants: How did it begin?Record number of lone children on small boats'One in, one out' sounds simple - but the migrant deal could be complicated
More than 25,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel since the start of the year.The government is facing increasing political pressure on the issue of immigration, with a series of protests and counter demonstrations outside UK hotels which are used to house asylum seekers.
The NCA announced earlier that more than 300 suspected people smugglers have been arrested in the last five years due to judicial investigations carried out by French law enforcement.In July alone, six members of an Afghan people-smuggling network were sentenced to a total of 26 years and 10 months imprisonment in France, and received fines totalling £150,000.Rick Jones, who leads the NCA's international network, said: "France is a key partner for the UK in the fight against organised immigration crime, and the NCA enjoys an excellent bi-lateral relationship with our French law enforcement counterparts."Together with them we are determined to do all we can to target these cruel people smuggling gangs who are putting lives at risk by transporting migrants across the Channel."
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