Tom Pursglove, a minister for both the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, insists 'ambition remains to secure successful returns arrangements with our European friends and neighbours'
Just five migrants who crossed the Channel by boat to the UK have been returned to Europe so far this year, one of the Government’s immigration ministers has told MPs.
Tom Pursglove, a minister for both the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, said there had been “difficulties securing returns” when he was questioned by the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Committee chairman Yvette Cooper had asked “how many asylum seekers or how many people arriving” had been returned to any EU country since January.
Mr Pursglove replied: “On returns related to small boat arrivals … the answer in this year is five”, later adding: “There is not a returns agreement with the European Union in place at the moment.”
Before Brexit, the UK was part of an EU returns deal known as the Dublin agreement which the committee heard allowed several hundred people to be returned in previous years.
When Ms Cooper suggested returns are “substantially worse” since losing the agreement, Mr Pursglove said: “You will appreciate that there have been some difficulties around securing returns, not least as a consequence of Covid.”
He insisted the “ambition remains to secure successful returns arrangements with our European friends and neighbours. And potentially with the European Union.”
