Almost 700 migrants have illegally crossed the Channel on the same day Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to tackle the small boats crisis, GB News sources can confirm.

At 7am, Reform leader Nigel Farage, along with GB News, watched as the first migrant boat containing 78 people was picked up mid-Channel by the Border Force vessel Hurricane.

The boat carried just one woman and three children. The other 74 on board were all young men.

By the time Starmer and Macron announced their one-in-one-out policy at a news conference this afternoon, around 400 migrants had already made the crossing.

This evening, almost 300 others have made it to UK waters.

The final two boatloads are expected into Dover harbour in the coming minutes.

Starmer hailed the pilot scheme to send small boat migrants back to France for the first time a “breakthrough moment” which would “turn the tables” on people smugglers.

In a joint press conference, Macron, who pointed the finger at Brexit for the troubles in dealing with illegal migration, said he hoped the deal would act as a deterrent to others wishing to make the treacherous crossing.

GB News captures moment migrant boat is intercepted by a border force vessel

Under the 'one in, one out deal', for each small boat migrant sent back across the Channel, an asylum seeker will be allowed to enter the UK from France under a legal route.

No details have been given about how many people will be covered by the scheme, but reports from France have indicated it could initially be limited to around 50 a week.

It is understood that numbers will grow over the pilot period and depend on operational factors.

Some 21,117 migrants have made the crossing so far in 2025, according to the latest Home Office figures, a record for this point in a year.

Border force vessel approaches migrant boatGB NEWS

Starmer said: “There is no silver bullet here, but with a united effort, new tactics and a new level of intent, we can finally turn the tables.”

The pilot scheme would mean “for the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order”.

It will “show others trying to make the same journey that it will be in vain” and represents “a real breakthrough in the way that we tackle the vile trade of people smuggling”.

Asylum seekers in France who wish to enter the UK via the legal method, may express an interest to apply through an online platform and would then carry out the standard visa application process and checks.

Priority will be given to people from countries where they are most likely to be granted asylum as genuine refugees, who are most likely to be exploited by smuggling gangs and also asylum seekers who already have connections to the UK.

It is not yet clear what the criteria will be for deciding which small boat migrants will be sent back to France.

The Prime Minister has also promised a crackdown on illegal working to counter one of the ways the UK is seen as attractive to migrants.

Starmer said the jobs promised to migrants by traffickers “will no longer exist because of the nationwide crackdown we’re delivering on illegal working, which is on a completely unprecedented scale”.

The Government is planning a major nationwide blitz targeting illegal working hotspots, focusing on the gig economy and migrants working as delivery riders.

Reform UK’s Nigel Farage, who spent the day on a boat in the English Channel watching migrants making the crossing, said: “This agreement is a humiliation for Brexit Britain.

“We have acted today as an EU member and bowed down to an arrogant French President.”

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp claimed the deal “will only return one in every 17 illegal immigrants arriving”.

“Allowing 94 per cent of illegal immigrants to stay will make no difference whatsoever and have no deterrent effect,” he said.

“This is the latest catastrophic example that when Labour negotiates, the UK loses.”