The UK may initially only return around one in 17 migrants to France under a “one in, one out” deal being negotiated between Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, the French president.

Britain will send back 50 migrants per week under a trial of the scheme, the equivalent of 2,600 a year, according to French newspaper reports. More than 44,000 migrants have arrived in the UK since Labour won the general election last July.

However, it is understood that the UK Government hopes there would be a significant increase in the numbers after the short initial pilot.

The disclosure came as the Prime Minister met Mr Macron in Downing Street for talks on the proposed deal, under which France would take back small boat migrants. In return, the UK would accept a similar number of asylum seekers from France.

The scheme is designed to break the business model of people smugglers and create a deterrent by showing illegal migrants that they can expect their asylum claim to be rejected on arrival in the UK before being sent back to France.