Channel boat crossings are breaking new records as critics of the Prime Minister’s “groundbreaking” one in, one out deal say the UK should ask France for our money back. On Saturday, a single dinghy brought 125 migrants to Britain – the largest number a small boat has carried across the Channel. Shocking new figures also show that French authorities are barely preventing peoplefrom attempting the journey, as only one in five are stopped. In the week to September 21, 1,157 people arrived in Britain aboard 14 dinghies, while officers in Calais managed to stop only 243 from making the crossing.

At the same time, Sir Keir Starmer’s deal with Emmanuel Macron has only seen seven migrants sent back, with three vetted asylum seekers admitted to the UK in exchange. Critics of the agreement claim it is already failing in the first month. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Stopping just one migrant for every five that arrive in the UK is a disgrace. Labour should be asking for our money back. The only way to stop the boats is to remove every single person who arrives in this country illegally.”

On Monday, Sir Keir demanded that the French authorities do more to clamp down on the number of migrants making the crossing, as figures continue to soar in the UK.

Each boat which arrived in Britain this month carried an average of 83 people, according to the Home Office, which has increased over the past few months. More than 33,000 small boat crossings have been recorded in 2025 so far – a record for this point in the year.

The UK-France returns deal, which is meant to act as a deterrent, came into force last month. It seeks to remove those who crossed the English Channel back to the continent, in exchange for those who apply in France and are approved being able to come to Britain.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said last week she intended to “ramp up” one-in, one-out deportations to France.

“You start with a small first step and then you ramp up, which is exactly what we’re going to be doing,” she said.

“We have a clear agreement with the French, we will want to see those numbers increase… I’m not going to get ahead of operational decisions.”

She continued: “I want us to get to a point where the numbers that are being removed are acting as a deterrent and stop people getting on the boats in the first place.

“We have proved it can work, we’ve got flights off the ground, more are going this week, and we will be looking to ramp up the numbers.”