An Iraqi migrant who is due to be deported to France under the one in, one out scheme has said that he will take every chance he has to come back to England.
The man, who has been in a UK immigration removal centre for ten weeks, said he has grown up in love with English culture and wants to build a life here.
Speaking from a detention centre ahead of his scheduled removal back to France, he said he had to flee Iraq because he was threatened by a powerful political group in the region. He made his way to Turkey from Iraq, and from there, he went through the Balkan route to get to Europe before paying people smugglers to get a small boat across the Channel.
“Yes I had to pay a lot of money, but I didn’t have any other choice,” he said.
Speaking in fluent English to the BBC’s Today programme, he added: “I had grown up in love with English culture, and I know how English people, how much they have compassion and how they respect the refugees and how they respect the people who are in danger. That’s why I came here.”
When asked if he would try to come back to the UK after deportation to France, he replied: “If there is a chance, of course I will come back to England because [of] my skills, my abilities, my language, everything. I have grown up in love with English culture, and I am an Arsenal supporter. Hopefully, we are going to win the league this year.
“Even when we were crossing the Channel, when we saw the English flag, I saw this is the end of everything, of suffering, of many years of suffering. But I never expected that there was something even worse waiting for me, and this is the detention centre. I never expected this.”
He said that he would be in danger if returned to France. His comments come as charity Medical Justice published a report on Wednesday detailing the experiences of their clients who had been detained under the one in, one out scheme.
Out of 20 people that their clinicians assessed, 12 had suicidal thoughts, with one person attempting to take their own life in detention, the report found.
People had been detained for between one month and three and a half months on the scheme, and 16 had been released in the UK.
Medical Justice clinicians warned that many people would be too unwell and too distrustful to seek help and support on return to France, and could be at risk of exploitation or destitution.
One person, known as Hamid, recalled being strapped up with belts during his removal attempt to France. He said that staff pulled his hair to make him feel pain, and another bent his fingers back to cause pain. He said: “I was in a very serious situation. The belt that was tied around my shoulders got stuck in my throat. I started screaming and saying I want to die, untie the belt from my neck, but they thought I just wanted to be let go.”
The report said that medical records confirmed the use of handcuffs, restraint belts, leg restraints and pain compliance techniques.
As of 22 December 2025, 193 people have been returned to France through the one in, one out scheme, which sees migrants sent back to Paris in exchange for other asylum seekers who are eligible to come here.
Over the same period, September to December, 195 asylum seekers have been allowed to come here from France.
At least two people have returned to the UK after being deported back to France under the scheme, with the Home Office then returning them for a second time.
When people are returned to France, they are housed in homeless accommodation for a few days and advised to claim asylum. Under the Dublin procedure, an asylum seeker in France can be returned to another European country, such as Italy or Greece, if the migrant arrived in that country first.
If they do not claim asylum in France, then they are likely to find themselves without housing support.
Migrants detained under the one in, one out returns scheme wrote a joint letter in early January saying that they have been left without support. Around 80 asylum seekers at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre, near Heathrow airport, said they had been treated unjustly by the Home Office since their arrival in the UK. They said that “people are breaking down” and are in mental distress, “isolated or punished instead of receiving care”.
Since the start of the year, there have been 658 arrivals by small boat. While the number of asylum applications has risen year on year by 13 per cent to 110,051, the number of returns and deportations from the UK has also risen by 11 per cent. Some 36,457 people were either returned or deported from the UK in the year up to September 2025, according to Home Office figures.
The number of people coming to the UK legally is also falling as fewer people come to Britain for work or study.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Protecting the UK border is our top priority. Our landmark one in, one out scheme means we can send those who arrive on small boats straight back to France – a safe country in which any protection claims can be, and are being, considered.
“The welfare of people detained is of the utmost importance and we are committed to ensuring that detention and removal are carried out with dignity.”
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