This is the moment a small boat arrived at Gravelines beach to pick up migrants to take them illegally across to the UK.
The rubber vessel was pictured off the French coast, just east of Calais, this morning, before heading off into the English Channel.
Passengers, which included men, women and children, loaded on to the boat, reaching out hands to help each other aboard.
Some threw peace signs at the camera – while a handful of French police officers stood on the beach, watching on.
It comes after the first small boat migrants were detained in Dover on Thursday for removal to France under the Government’s new ‘one in, one out’ scheme.
The Home Office confirmed the Channel arrivals were held after they were brought into Dover but did not disclose how many there were.
Migrants selected for removal under the new Labour plan will be held in Home Office detention facilities rather than living in taxpayer-funded asylum hotels.
But there has been widespread criticism of the scheme – from concerns human rights challenges and other legal action could delay migrants’ removal for months, to scepticism over the plan’s narrow scope.
This is the moment (pictured) a small boat arrived at Gravelines beach to pick up migrants to take them illegally across to the UK
The rubber vessel was pictured off the French coast, just east of Calais, this morning, before heading off into the English Channel. Some passengers threw peace signs at the camera (pictured)
A handful of French police officers stood on the beach, watching on (pictured)
The images from today show the passengers gathering on the sand as they wait to be loaded on to a boat at sunrise.
They soon wade into the water at around knee depth as they wait for boats to arrive.
Many are carrying children, some of whom look no older than toddlers, with most of them wearing lifejackets ahead of the passage.
The majority of people have no possessions with them, apart from one small bag in some cases.
One pair is seen clasping hands, while another hugs tightly.
They soon variously swim and wade out to the boat, with some climbing onboard before helping to lift others on to the craft.
A boat is soon densely packed with passengers, with a row of young men seen sitting astride the edge of the vessel.
After the first boat is loaded up, remaining passengers watch on as it embarks on its journey into the Channel.
The images from today show the passengers gathering on the sand (pictured) as they wait to be loaded on to a boat at sunrise
They soon wade into the water at around knee depth as they wait for boats to arrive (pictured)
Many are carrying children, some of whom look no older than toddlers (pictured)
Most of the children wear lifejackets ahead of the passage (pictured)
The majority of people have no possessions with them, apart from one small bag in some cases (pictured)
One pair is seen clasping hands (pictured)
Another pair hugs tightly (pictured)
They soon variously swim and wade out to the boat (pictured)
Some climb onboard before helping to lift others on to the craft (pictured)
A boat is soon densely packed with passengers (pictured)
A row of young men can be seen sitting astride the edge of the vessel (pictured)
After the first boat is loaded up, remaining passengers watch on as it embarks on its journey into the Channel (pictured)
It appears to pass very close to another vessel (pictured)
It soon recedes into the distance (pictured)
It appears to pass very close to another vessel, before receding into the distance.
Two French gendarmerie vehicles can be seen on the sand, with a small group of officers standing stationery as the events unfold.
One policeman appears to be looking at his phone.
Today’s small boat passage comes after Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp blasted Labour’s ‘one in, one out’ scheme as a ‘gimmick that just won’t work’.
He said: ‘As far as we can see, removals under this scheme will only amount to six per cent of arrivals, meaning 94 per cent will stay.
‘It will have no deterrent effect whatsoever.
‘We also know that the agreement with France means any migrants claiming to be under 18, or who make a modern slavery or human rights claim, will not get removed.
‘So this plan will get bogged down in an endless legal quagmire.
Two French gendarmerie vehicles can be seen on the sand (pictured)
A small group of officers stand stationery as the events unfold. One policeman appears to be looking at his phone (pictured)
Today’s small boat passage (pictured) comes after Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp blasted Labour’s ‘one in, one out’ scheme as a ‘gimmick that just won’t work’
‘Just like Sir Keir Starmer’s claim to “smash the gangs”, this is another gimmick that just won’t work.’
Former Tory Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Anglo-French deal – announced by Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron on July 10 and since approved by the European Commission – was a ‘complete waste of time’.
‘It’s a fake. It’s a phony, it’s a cheat on the British people,’ he said on GB News.
‘It’s a bogus deal, it’s a complete waste of time.
‘There’s an extraordinary loophole that means almost no one can be deported.’
Despite the narrow scope of the scheme and the fact it is likely to expire in less than 11 months, the PM has insisted on social media: ‘If you break the law to enter this country, you will face being sent back.’
He added: ‘No gimmicks, just results.’
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has previously said: ‘Yesterday, under the terms of this groundbreaking new treaty, the first group of people to cross the Channel were detained after their arrival at Western Jet Foil [at Dover port] and will now be held in detention until they can be returned to France.
He said: ‘As far as we can see, removals under this scheme will only amount to six per cent of arrivals, meaning 94 per cent will stay’. Pictured: Migrants waiting for a small boat at Gravelines beach today
Former Tory Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Anglo-French deal was a ‘complete waste of time’. Pictured: Migrants waiting for a small boat at Gravelines beach today
‘It’s a fake. It’s a phony, it’s a cheat on the British people,’ he said on GB News. Pictured: Migrants waiting for a small boat on Gravelines beach today
‘That sends a message to every migrant currently thinking of paying organised crime gangs to go to the UK that they will be risking their lives and throwing away their money if they get into a small boat.
‘No-one should be making this illegal and dangerous journey that undermines our border security and lines the pockets of the criminal gangs.’
She added: ‘Criminal gangs have spent seven years embedding themselves along our border and it will take time to unravel them, but these detentions are an important step towards undermining their business model and unravelling the false promises they make.
‘These are the early days for this pilot scheme, and it will develop over time.
‘But we are on track to do what no other government has done since this crisis first started – sending small boat arrivals back to France and strengthening our borders through the Plan for Change.’
As part of the treaty, Britain will accept migrants from France in exchange for small boat arrivals.
That element of the scheme also began on Thursday, allowing migrants to lodge ‘expressions of interest’ on a specially-created Home Office website.
It comes after a Cabinet minister appeared to contradict the terms of the new treaty with France earlier this week.
Despite the narrow scope of the scheme and the fact it is likely to expire in less than 11 months, the PM has insisted on social media (pictured): ‘If you break the law to enter this country, you will face being sent back’
![Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (pictured) has previously said: 'Yesterday, under the terms of this groundbreaking new treaty, the first group of people to cross the Channel were detained after their arrival at Western Jet Foil [at Dover port]'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/08/09/11/100997361-14985271-Home_Secretary_Yvette_Cooper_confirmed_the_first_group_of_migran-a-118_1754735420055.jpg)
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (pictured) has previously said: ‘Yesterday, under the terms of this groundbreaking new treaty, the first group of people to cross the Channel were detained after their arrival at Western Jet Foil [at Dover port]’
She continued: ‘That sends a message to every migrant currently thinking of paying organised crime gangs to go to the UK that they will be risking their lives’. Pictured: Passengers on a small boat at Gravelines beach today
She added: ‘Criminal gangs have spent seven years embedding themselves along our border and it will take time to unravel them’. Pictured: Migrants waiting for a boat at Gravelines beach today
As part of the treaty, Britain will accept migrants from France in exchange for small boat arrivals. Pictured: Passengers loading on to a boat at Gravelines beach today
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said small boat migrants sent back under the deal would see their human rights claims heard after being sent back to France.
But it later emerged some types of human rights cases would, in fact, block the Home Office from being able to remove migrants in the first place.
The treaty clearly sets out small boat migrants cannot be sent back to France if they have ‘an outstanding human rights claim’.
The Home Office confirmed some human rights claims will block migrants’ removal until they have been concluded in full.
It will include cases which cannot be formally ‘certified’ by officials as ‘clearly unfounded’.
The Mail has learned pro-migrant groups have begun informal discussions about launching a joint legal action against Labour’s plan – just as they did against the Tories’ Rwanda asylum scheme.
Sources said there had already been ‘a certain amount of co-ordination’ between charities and other groups, with details of the treaty still being analysed.
Meanwhile, the Free Movement website, which offers advice to immigration lawyers, published an analysis of the new measures earlier this week.
That element of the scheme also began on Thursday, allowing migrants to lodge ‘expressions of interest’ on a specially-created Home Office website. Pictured: Passengers waiting for a boat at Gravelines beach today
The treaty clearly sets out small boat migrants cannot be sent back to France if they have ‘an outstanding human rights claim’. Pictured: Passengers waiting for a boat at Gravelines beach today
It said: ‘Legal challenges will be more difficult than for Rwanda, however there are still likely to be grounds on which some people can resist removal to France.
‘For example, if the inadmissibility decision was wrong, if people have family in the UK, or had experiences in France which make it inappropriate to send them back.’
It means the Home Secretary is likely to face a huge legal battle to get the first migrants removed from Britain.
Last month, the PM pledged migrants would be ‘detained and returned to France in short order’ under the agreement.
But on Wednesday – the first day it was in force – Shadow Home Secretary Mr Philp posted videos from the Channel as he watched migrant boats bound for the UK coast, escorted by a French vessel.
