A third person has been deported from the UK under the “one in, one out” deal with France aimed at stopping small boats crossing the Channel.
Home Office sources said an Iranian male had been returned to France on Friday.
This followed the removal of an Eritrean man earlier on Friday after he lost a High Court bid to halt his removal, and the deportation of an Indian national on Thursday.
The first flights carrying asylum seekers from France to the UK under the deal are expected to take place next week, the source added.
Although they would not comment on numbers, the source said they were expected to be “at or close to parity”, given the “one in, one out” nature of the deal.
Ministers have praised the returns, with deputy prime minister David Lammy saying they provided an “immediate deterrent” to people seeking to cross the Channel.
The government intends to increase the number of people being sent back under the pilot deal over the coming months.
Analysis by the PA news agency reveals 31,031 people have made the crossing so far this year, with more arriving in Dover on Friday.
The figure puts 2025 on course to be a record year for crossings, while new home secretary Shabana Mahmood has vowed to do “whatever it takes” to end them.
The deal with France means people who arrive in the UK by small boat can be detained and returned across the Channel, in exchange for an equivalent number of people who applied through a safe and legal route.
But shadow home secretary Chris Philp attacked the deal as providing “no deterrent effect whatsoever”, describing the numbers returned as “pathetic” and saying “boasting about it is absurd”.
Home Office sources pointed to the fact these were forcible returns, and drew comparisons with the previous government’s deal with Rwanda – scrapped by Labour – that saw four volunteers go to the east African nation over two years.
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