NO migrants have been sent back to France

NO asylum seekers have been forcibly returned to France under post-Brexit rules, official figures showed last night.

Since January last year, only 21 ‘enforced removals’ have been carried out against claimants who travelled through a safe country to Britain.

None have been deported to France, even though 70,000 have crossed the Channel by small boat over this period. The 21 returns were made to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland.

Between January 2021 and September this year, only 83 asylum seekers out of 20,600 claimants were issued with inadmissibility decisions, meaning another country was ‘considered responsible for the claim’.

The measures rely on other countries agreeing to accept the asylum seekers back – and only 21 cases have led to deportations.

The tiny number of removals will raise fresh doubts over the Government’s suggestion it can address the Channel crisis by declaring claims inadmissible. The regime for dealing with these was introduced at the end of the Brexit shifting period.

It was intended to replace a European Union scheme which allows asylum seekers who pass through another EU nation to be sent back, reducing socalled ‘asylum shopping’.

Created by former Home Secretary Priti Patel earlier this year, the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 allows the Home Office to declare an asylum application ‘inadmissible’ if the claimant has a link with a ‘safe third country’.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman last month vowed to ‘move heaven and earth’ to tighten the law further but, after a delay, her plans will now be revealed in the new year.

The Mail yesterday reported the asylum backlog has soared by more than 21,000 in three months to 148,533. Three years ago the total stood at 48,000.

■ A crackdown on foreign students risks many universities going bust. Professor Brian Bell, who chairs the migration advisory committee, warned: ‘Most universities for most courses lose money on teaching British students and offset that loss by charging more for international students.’

The Government is considering limits on international students bringing dependants into the country as net migration soars.

‘Asylum shopping’