Labour is reportedly close to finalising a controversial "one in, one out" migrant exchange deal with France that has been branded "nonsensical" by migration expert Steven Woolfe.

The agreement, which could be announced within days, would see France accept Channel migrants back for the first time in exchange for Britain taking an equal number of asylum seekers from French processing centres.

Speaking to GB News, director of The Centre For Migration Steven Woolfe said: "The idea of a one in, one out system is nonsensical. The theory is that if someone is denied asylum through an official hub in Paris or Lille and still chooses to cross on a boat, they’ll be returned.

"But in reality, they’ll keep trying until they get in. We’re already seeing this with people hiding in lorries, around 5,000 a year arrive this way. These routes existed before Brexit, under the old Dublin II system, and they continue now.

Steven Woolfe said that the idea of a one in, one out system is "nonsensical."

"Under Dublin II, we were supposed to be able to return people to France if they failed asylum tests. But in practice, we took in four times as many people from France as we sent back.

"This plan is essentially a charter to keep the people-smuggling gangs in business, it just allows them to use official hubs so it doesn’t look bad in the newspapers. But the reality remains: people are still arriving in record numbers.

Ellie Costello asked: "So what needs to be done?"

"The first and only way to stop the boats is to establish a credible deterrent in the destination country to make people think twice before coming. That must be backed up by a legal system that limits endless appeals.

"Any deal with the French should have included a condition: we will not accept anyone arriving across the Channel.

"Secondly, we must withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights.

"Abolish the Human Rights Act and introduce legislation to restore common law protections, removing the loopholes that allow people to stay here because they 'might have their beard cut off' in their home country, or because 'my child doesn’t like chicken McNuggets in Albania.'

"These are actual examples of what the European Court has deemed human rights breaches.

"Thirdly, we need to work internationally with countries like the United States to reform the UN Refugee Convention to clarify that it is designed for those genuinely fleeing torture or persecution, not for people seeking economic advantage.

More than 18,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year

"There are systems, nationally and internationally, that we can use. But they require a Government with real steel, not the kind we’ve had so far: weak feathers blowing in the wind."

More than 18,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, marking a record for this point since data collection began in 2018. The figure represents a 43 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

Under the proposed arrangement, Britain would accept migrants seeking family reunification, while returning others to France.