UK and France extend ‘one in, one out’ small boats pilot scheme until October

The UK and France have extended their "one in, one out" pilot scheme, which exchanges asylum seekers who arrive in the UK by small boat for those brought legally from France, until October 1st, despite the original deadline being June 11th. Since the scheme began last July, thousands of asylum seekers have continued to cross the Channel, with smugglers adapting by launching vessels from Belgium and offering more expensive alternative routes, though crossings have reduced by about a third this year partly due to weather conditions. As of late April, 605 people had been returned to France and 581 brought to the UK under the scheme, which asylum seekers view with dismay.