Britain and France have agreed to extend their so-called "one in, one out" asylum pilot scheme until 1 October, pushing past its original 11 June end date. Under the arrangement, launched by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron last July, one asylum seeker who reaches the UK by small boat across the English Channel is forcibly returned to France in exchange for one person already in France — who has not attempted the crossing — being admitted to the UK legally. The UK Home Office says more than 600 people have been returned to France under the scheme, though critics argue it has failed to stop crossings, with smuggling gangs adapting by launching boats from Belgium and offering lorry-based routes to circumvent policing on French beaches.