The first Channel migrant has been deported to France under Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘one in, one out’ deal.

The home office confirmed that a man who arrived by small boat in August was sent back on a commercial fight earlier this morning.

Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood said it as an “important first step to securing our borders”, adding: “It sends a message to people crossing in small boats: if you enter the UK illegally, we will seek to remove you.”

She added that she will “challenge any last-minute, vexatious attempts to frustrate a removal in the courts,” after the deportation of another individual was blocked on Wednesday.

An Eritrean man, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was due to be on a flight to France yesterday morning but the court granted him 14 days to make representations to support his claim that he was a victim of modern slavery.

The government said a “rapid review” of modern slavery legislation has commenced to prevent its misuse.

The ‘one in one out’ deal allows the UK to send back a migrant who crosses the Channel illegally in exchange for accepting the same number of migrants in France who have a valid asylum claim.

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It is hoped this will act as a deterrent by persuading migrants not to pay people smugglers to help them get to the UK knowing there is a risk they could be detained and deported.

The government has stressed that although the numbers will start off small, they expect removals to be ramped up over time as the scheme is tested.

More than 30,000 people have crossed the Channel illegally so far this year, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has vowed to do “whatever it takes” to stop any more from coming.

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