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Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron’s migrant deal comes into force today, with detentions set to begin by the end of the week.

The “one in, one out” pilot scheme – which allows the UK to send some people who have crossed the Channel back to France in exchange for asylum seekers with ties to Britain – was signed last week, and has now been approved by the European Commission.

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It comes as 2025 is on course to be a record year for crossings.

Approximately 25,436 people have already made the journey this year, according to PA news agency analysis of Home Office figures – 49% higher than at the same point in 2024.

The prime minister and the French president hailed the deal as a “good agreement” when it was first announced during the latter’s visit to the UK last month.

The scheme also means that anyone arriving in a small boat can be detained immediately, with space set aside at immigration removal centres in anticipation of their arrival.

Sir Keir said the ratification of the treaty will “send a clear message – if you come here illegally on a small boat you will face being sent back to France”.

Ministers have so far declined to say how many people could be returned under the deal, however, there have been reports that under the scheme only 50 people a week will be returned to France.

Analysis: Deal will need to go much further to work

Sky News political correspondent Rob Powell said while it was a “policy win” for the government, the numbers must eventually “go a lot higher” than 50 per week if it is to work as a deterrent.

“The average crossing rate is about 800 a week, so this will need to go up by a sizeable factor for that message to start seeping through to people trying to make that crossing,” Powell added.

The aim will be to make asylum seekers believe the “risk of going back to France is so big that they shouldn’t bother parting with their cash and paying smugglers” to make the crossing.

Read more:
What is the UK-France migrant returns deal?
Clampdown on social media ads for Channel crossings unveiled

Migrants in Dunkirk, France, preparing to cross the English Channel
Image:
Migrants in Dunkirk, France, preparing to cross the English Channel.

The Conservatives have branded the agreement a “surrender deal” and said it will make “no difference whatsoever”.

Under the terms of the agreement, adults arriving on small boats will face being returned to France if their asylum claim is inadmissible.

In exchange, the same number of people will be able to come to the UK on a new legal route, provided they have not attempted a crossing before and subject to stringent documentation and security checks.

The pilot scheme is set to run until June 2026, pending a longer-term agreement.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will face questions on the agreement on Sky News Breakfast this morning.

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Dubai and UAE move to align crypto frameworks under new partnership

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Dubai and UAE move to align crypto frameworks under new partnership

Dubai and UAE move to align crypto frameworks under new partnership

A VARA spokesperson told Cointelegraph that while mutual license recognition is a feature, it does not mean automatic passporting to different emirates.

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US DOJ could still pursue money laundering, sanctions charges against Roman Storm

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US DOJ could still pursue money laundering, sanctions charges against Roman Storm

US DOJ could still pursue money laundering, sanctions charges against Roman Storm

Roman Storm’s trial verdict leaves the door open for US prosecutors to retry the Tornado Cash developer, attorneys said.

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Diane’s husband was killed by a reckless driver – the wait for justice was almost as painful

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Diane's husband was killed by a reckless driver - the wait for justice was almost as painful

Diane Gall’s husband, Martyn, had been out on a morning bike ride with his friends on their usual route one winter morning in November 2020 – when he was killed by a reckless driver. 

Diane and her daughters had to wait almost three years for her husband’s case to be heard in court.

The case was postponed three times, often without warning.

“You just honestly lose faith in the system,” she says.

“You feel there’s a system there that should be there to help and protect victims, to be victims’ voices, but the constant delays really take their toll on individuals and us as a family.”

Diane Gall
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Diane Gall

The first trial date in April 2022 was cancelled on the day and pushed four months later.

The day before the new date, the family were told it wasn’t going ahead due to the barristers’ strike.

It was moved to November 2022, then postponed again, before eventually being heard in June the following year.

“You’re building yourself up for all these dates, preparing yourself for what you’re going to hear, reliving everything that has happened, and it’s retraumatising,” says Diane.

Diane Gall's husband, Martyn
Image:
Diane Gall’s husband, Martyn

‘Radical’ reform needed

Diane’s wait for justice gives us an insight into what thousands of victims and their families are battling every day in a court system cracking under the weight of a record-high backlog.

There are 76,957 cases waiting to be heard in Crown Courts across England and Wales, as of the end of March 2025.

To relieve pressure on the system, an independent review by Sir Brian Leveson last month made a number of recommendations – including creating a new division of the Crown Court known as an intermediate court, made up of a judge and two magistrates, and allowing defendants to choose to be tried by judge alone.

He said only “radical” reform would have an impact.

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Will court reforms tackle backlog?

But according to exclusive data collected for Sky News by the Law Society, there is strong scepticism among the industry about some proposed plans.

Before the review was published, we asked 545 criminal lawyers about the idea of a new tier to the Crown Court – 60% of them told us a type of Intermediate Court was unlikely to reduce the backlog.

chart visualization

“It’s moving a problem from one place to another, like moving the deck chairs on the Titanic. It’s not going to do anything,” says Stuart Nolan, chair of the Law Society’s criminal law committee.

“I think the problem with it is lack of resources or lack of will to give the proper resources.

“You can say we need more staff, but they’re not just any staff, they are people with experience and training, and that doesn’t come quickly or cheap.”

Instead, the lawyers told us creating an additional court would harm the quality of justice.

chart visualization

Chloe Jay, senior partner at Shentons Solicitors, agrees the quality of justice will be impacted by a new court division that could sit without a jury for some offences.

She says: “The beauty of the Crown Court is that you have two separate bodies, one deciding the facts and one deciding law.

Casey Jenkins, president of London Criminal Court Solicitors' Association
Image:
Casey Jenkins, president of London Criminal Court Solicitors’ Association

“So the jury doesn’t hear the legal arguments about what evidence should be excluded, whether something should be considered as part of the trial, and that’s what really gives you that really good, sound quality of justice, because you haven’t got one person making all the decisions together.

“Potentially in an intermediate court, that is what will happen. The same three people will hear those legal arguments and make the finding of guilt or innocence.”

The most striking finding from the survey is that 73% of criminal lawyers surveyed are worried about offences no longer sitting in front of a jury.

chart visualization

Casey Jenkins, president of London Criminal Court Solicitors’ Association, says this could create unconscious bias.

“There’s a real risk that people from minority backgrounds are negatively impacted by having a trial by a judge and not a jury of their peers who may have the same or similar social background to them,” she says.

“A jury trial is protection against professional judicial decisions by the state. It’s a fundamental right that can be invoked.”

Instead of moving some offences to a new Crown Court tier, our survey suggests criminal lawyers would be more in favour of moving cases to the magistrates instead.

Under the Leveson proposals, trials for offences such as dangerous driving, possessing an offensive weapon and theft could be moved out of the Crown Courts.

chart visualization

‘Catastrophic consequences’

Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society, says fixing the system will only work with fair funding.

“It’s as important as the NHS, it’s as important as the education system,” he says. “If it crumbles, there will be catastrophic consequences.”

Ms Jenkins agrees that for too long the system has been allowed to fail.

“Everyone deserves justice, this is just not the answer,” she says.

“It’s just the wrong solution to a problem that was caused by chronic, long-term under-investment in the criminal justice system, which is a vital public service.

“The only way to ensure that there’s timely and fair justice for everybody is to invest in all parts of the system from the bottom up: local services, probation, restorative justice, more funding for lawyers so we can give early advice, more funding for the police so that cases are better prepared.”

Government vows ‘bold and ambitious reform’

In response to Sky News’ findings, the minister for courts and legal services, Sarah Sackman KC MP, told Sky News: “We inherited a record and rising court backlog, leaving many victims facing unacceptable delays to see justice done.

“We’ve already boosted funding in our courts system, but the only way out of this crisis is bold and ambitious reform. That is why we are carefully considering Sir Brian’s bold recommendations for long-term change.

“I won’t hesitate to do whatever needs to be done for the benefit of victims.”

The driver that killed Diane’s husband was eventually convicted. She wants those making decisions about the court system to remember those impacted the most in every case.

Every victim and every family.

“You do just feel like a cog in a big wheel that’s out of your control,” she says. “Because you know justice delayed is justice denied.”

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