Just five people have been sent back this year, against 289 last year when UK was part of EU returns deal
The number of people who have been sent back to Europe after travelling to the UK across the Channel in small boats has plummeted since Brexit, an immigration minister has admitted to MPs.
Just five people who made the perilous journey from northern Europe have been returned so far this year, the home affairs select committee was told. In the previous year, when the UK was part of an EU returns deal, 289 such arrivals were deported, the minister said.