Sixteen more people who entered the UK illegally have been returned to France this week, taking the number deported under the deal to 42, the Home Office said.

More flights are expected to take place in the coming days and week.

It is understood the number of migrants arriving under the treaty now stands at 23.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "For many years, illegal migrants entered our country with no consequence.

"This is the largest return flight under our historic deal with the French.

"And it sends a warning to those considering entering this country illegally: if you come here by small boat, you can be sent back.

"This is just the beginning - I will scale up these removals to France.

"And I will do whatever it takes to secure our borders."

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood (Peter Nicholls/PA)

The "one-in, one-out" returns deal struck between Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir Starmer earlier this year is aimed at creating a disincentive for the dangerous Channel crossing.

The latest returns have been announced just a day after multiple small boats were seen crossing the English Channel.

More than 36,000 people have made the journey so far this year, around a third higher than at the same point in 2024.

Saturday's crossings have not yet been accounted for in official statistics, but could result in the number of people who have made the journey this year surpassing that in 2024, when the final total was 36,816.

Border security chief Martin Hewitt this week told MPs that the number of arrivals by small boat to the UK is "frustrating" but insisted work to stop the smuggling route was "always going to take time".

The Border Security Commander, who has been in post for a year, rejected the idea it was a "fool's errand" to go after smuggling gangs and said was convinced the plan in place "will deliver".

Ministers have been continuing in their efforts to stem the so-called "upstream" causes of the crossings.

Earlier this week, Ms Mahmood met in central London with her counterparts from the western Balkans.

International policing efforts are attempting to crack down on smuggling gangs who have plotted trafficking routes through the region.

Next week, Sir Keir Starmer will host a leaders' summit with western Balkan countries to agree further measures to bring down the number of migrants arriving illegally to the UK.

Sixteen people deported to France under returns deal in single flight