politics
Over 4,300 Deported Migrants Found Back in Britain From 2021 to 2025
GB News reported 4,614 re-entry incidents involving previously removed individuals over five years, with Albanians accounting for more than one-third of cases. The figures coincide with more than 76,000 illegal Channel crossings since July 2024 and limited returns under a UK-France agreement.
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GB News reported that approximately 4,300 previously deported migrants were found back in Britain between 2021 and 2025, producing 4,614 separate re-entry incidents. More than 720 of those individuals faced removal at least twice during the period. Albanian nationals accounted for 1,525 of the re-entries, more than one-third of the total.
Romanian nationals followed with 767 cases, Afghans with 281, Lithuanians with 233 and Iraqis with 150. The average cost of an enforced removal reached £48,800 in the 2024/25 financial year, compared with £4,300 for a voluntary departure. In the year to March 2025 authorities recorded 26,388 voluntary returns and 8,590 enforced removals.
More than 76,000 migrants crossed the Channel illegally after Sir Keir Starmer became prime minister in July 2024. The UK-France migrant removal agreement, which began operating in August 2025, had returned 921 people to France by 15 June 2026. Between 15 and 22 June 2026 another 1,912 people arrived by small boat.
The government committed an additional £662 million to French authorities under the agreement. Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf said: "Britain's borders have become a national joke. Thousands of people who were deported from this country have strolled back in, with some being removed and returning more than once.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We will not accept any abuse of our borders.
