More than 1,000 people crossed the Channel to the UK in small boats on Friday – the day after the first migrant was deported under the “one in, one out” deal.

The latest Home Office figures show 1,072 people made the journey in 13 boats – averaging more than 82 people per boat.

On the same day, an Iranian man became the third migrant to be deported under the UK’s deal with France.

The number of people who have made the crossing so far in 2025 now stands at 32,103 – a record for this point in a year.

Ministers hope the deal will act as a deterrent, showing migrants they face being sent back to France.

But the scale of Friday’s crossings suggested the policy was so far having little effect on those prepared to make the risky crossing across the Channel.

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The deal with France means the UK can send migrants who enter the UK on small boats back to France.

For each one returned, the UK will allow an asylum seeker to enter through a safe and legal route – as long as they have not previously tried to enter illegally.

The first flights carrying asylum seekers from France to the UK under the reciprocal aspect of the deal are expected to take place next week.

Although they would not comment on numbers, a Home Office source told the PA news agency they were expected to be “at or close to parity”, given the “one in, one out” nature of the deal.

The agreement came into force on 5 August, having been signed by both countries and approved by the European Commission.

Former British athlete Lynsey Sharp has told Sky News she would have won a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 had today’s gender testing rules been in place then.

Sharp came sixth in the women’s 800m final behind three now-barred athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD).

She told sports presenter Jacquie Beltrao the sport has changed considerably from when she was competing.

“Sometimes I look back and think I could have had an Olympic medal, but I gave it my all that day and that was the rules at the time,” she said.

“Obviously, I wish I was competing nowadays, but that was my time in the sport and that’s how it was.”

The Rio women’s 800m final saw South Africa’s Caster Semenya take gold, with Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba and Margaret Wambui winning silver and bronze respectively. All three would have been unable to compete today.

Semenya won a total of two Olympic gold medals before World Athletics introduced rules limiting her participation in the female class.

In a major policy overhaul introduced this year, World Athletics now requires athletes competing in the female category at the elite level of the sport to take a gene test.

The tests identify the SRY gene, which is on the Y chromosome and triggers the development of male characteristics.

The tests replace previous rules whereby athletes with DSD were able to compete as long as they artificially reduced their testosterone levels.

Sharp says while she was competing, governing bodies “didn’t really deal with the issue head on”, and she was often portrayed as a “sore loser” over the issue.

Despite running a Scottish record in that race, her personal best, she described the experience as a “really difficult time”.

“Sadly, it did kind of taint my experience in the sport and at the Olympics in Rio,” she said.

Sharp added that despite the changes, it remains a “very contentious topic, not just in sport, but in society”.

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Boxing has now also adopted a compulsory sex test to establish the presence of a Y chromosome at this month’s world championships.

The controversial Olympic champion Imane Khelif, who won Olympic welterweight gold in Paris 2024 in the female category, did not take it and couldn’t compete.

She has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against having to take the test.

Sharp’s comments come as British athletics star and Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson is tipped to win her first world title in Sunday’s women’s 800m final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

She is returning from a year out after suffering two torn hamstrings.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has protested to the home secretary after prosecutors dropped charges against two men accused of spying for China and targeting MPs.

Sir Lindsay told Sky News the decision “leaves the door open” to foreigners spying on the House of Commons, and he has written a “strong and punchy” letter to Shabana Mahmood.

The Speaker says “all avenues” must be pursued to ensure the protection of MPs and Commons staff, and he is understood to be weighing up whether to carry out a private prosecution.

The men – Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher and director of the China Research Group, and Christopher Berry – were charged last April under the Official Secrets Act.

The charges related to “espionage within parliament”, security minister Dan Jarvis told MPs on Monday, in a statement after the case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service at the Old Bailey.

The pair were accused of targeting the China Research Group of MPs, whose leading members are former Tory security minister Tom Tugendhat, shadow home office minister and former foreign affairs committee chair Alicia Kearns, and shadow minister Neil O’Brien.

Announcing the CPS decision, a spokesperson said: “In accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, the evidence in this case has been kept under continuous review and it has now been determined that the evidential standard for the offence indicted is no longer met. No further evidence will be offered.”

Mr Cash and Mr Berry, who had both previously taught in China, said after the case against them was dropped that charges should never have been brought.

Speaking outside court, Mr Cash – previously a researcher for Ms Kearns – said: “While I am relieved that justice has been served today, the last two and a half years have been a nightmare for me and my family.”

He said he hoped “lessons are learned from this sorry episode”, while his lawyer said his client was “entirely innocent and should never have been arrested, let alone charged”.

Revealing that he has now written to the home secretary, Sir Lindsay told Sky News: “As Speaker, I take the security of this House incredibly seriously. I believe this leaves the door open to foreign actors trying to spy on the House.

“This door must be closed hard. We must pursue all avenues to ensure the protection of Members and people that work within the House of Commons. It will not be tolerated.”

Ahead of Mr Jarvis’s Commons statement on Monday, Sir Lindsay told MPs: “I found out only this morning that the charges against the two individuals relating to espionage for the Chinese authorities were to be dropped. I do not think that is good.

“I ask officials to consider whether any further steps should be taken-operational, strategic, or legal-to ensure that all those who work in this parliament are able to undertake their activities securely and without interference.”

And he concluded: “I am a very unhappy Speaker with what has happened. The fact that it has taken two years, until today, for somebody to withdraw this case is not good enough.”

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Mr Jarvis told MPs: “The government remain gravely concerned about the threat of Chinese espionage. Parliament and our democracy are sacrosanct, and any attempt by any foreign power to infiltrate or interfere with parliamentary proceedings is completely unacceptable.”

He added: “This was an independent decision made by the CPS, and it is not for any government minister to speculate on the reasons behind it.

“The government are extremely disappointed with the outcome in this case, and we remain extremely concerned about the espionage threat posed to the United Kingdom.”

Responding to Mr Jarvis’s statement, Ms Kearns told MPs: “From a securities perspective, today’s events are disastrous. They will embolden our enemies and make us look unwilling to defend our own nation, even when attacked in this place, the mother of all parliaments.”