People smugglers have sent Britain a clear message about what they think of its new returns deal with France, Mark White has said on GB News.

Our Home and Security Editor has provided insight into how the gangs are reacting to Labour’s latest attempt to hinder small boat crossers.

“If you thought the treaty yesterday was going to act as a disincentive to these people smugglers, not a bit of it”, he said.

“311 have now crossed illegally from France since that treaty came into operation and as we speak, in atrocious conditions in the Channel, another small boat is now in UK waters and its occupants are being collected by the UK Border Force Vessel Hurricane Martin.

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“This is two fingers up from the people smugglers to the Government. Not only do they not care about the returns deal, they are putting these migrants out in very, very dangerous conditions to prove a point.”

Mark visited Dover on Thursday to see first hand if any noticeable changes have occurred since the deal came into force.

Speaking to Martin Daubney, he had praise for a move by the Home Office he says goes some way to providing transparency.

Dramatic footage was released of a group of Channel migrants detained upon arrival on British shores.

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Mark explained: “This is video released by the Government and I just want to say, I think this is a really welcome move.

“We need transparency in Government and the migrants crossing the Channel is a key issue for people right across the country.

“It’s welcome they are giving us an insight into what they are doing and clearly, they want to get the message out. We see footage from Dover of migrants in the past day being taken in for assessment.

“They are medically assessed and triaged. The makeshift facility has sprung up in the harbour. The next piece of video shows the Manston Detention Centre, a much bigger facility where migrants are kept for at least 48 hours.

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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is hopeful the scheme will act as a deterrent

“Biometric tests are taking place. Fingerprints, DNA, all of the above to try and get a handle on who these people are. They are instructed by people smugglers to throw away their documents which makes it extremely difficult for the authorities in this country to know exactly who they are and what threat they pose to this country.

“The French are being notified of arrested migrants and they have 14 days to respond to the UK Government. They can veto anyone, but I’m not sure we have any kind of a veto. We are expecting, in the next hour or two, more video that shows migrants going to an immigration, detention and removal centre.

“They are not being sent to a hotel or houses of multiple occupation as normal.”

Initial estimations suggest roughly one in 18 arrivals will be returned weekly during the pilot scheme’s first phase, which amounts to six per cent of those making the journey.

The Home Office insists that people will be deterred as a result and the prospect of being dealt with an immediate return will go some way to dissuading many from making the perilous journey across the Channel.

However, critics question whether such low odds of removal will genuinely deter desperate individuals willing to gamble on reaching British shores.

Sir Keir Starmer hailed the agreement as "the product of months of grown-up diplomacy" that would "strike at the heart of these vile gangs' business model". The Prime Minister declared: "The days of gimmicks and broken promises are over – we will restore order to our borders with the seriousness and competence the British people deserve."

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper emphasised Britain would "always be ready to play its part alongside other countries in helping those fleeing persecution and conflict", but stressed this must happen "in a controlled and managed legal way".

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau described the arrangement as "a first step in addressing a challenge that calls for the mobilisation of the entire European Union".