General

UK Home Office reveals more than 24,000 migrant returns since Labour entered government

By Amer Zaman

on June 27, 2025

Read Time: 7 Minutes

At the recent Organised Immigration Crime Summit in London on 31^st March, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer made a claim that turned the heads of many a political foe and friend alike: that more than 24,000 people “with no right” to be in the UK had been returned since the general election last July.

The Prime Minister said this was the highest rate of returns for eight years. His office added that the Labour Government was “finally restoring order to the immigration system after years of failure” under the now-opposition Conservatives.

What statistics has the Labour Government shared about its handling of immigration?

UK Governments of both parties have been under intense political pressure to drive down the recent historically high levels of net migration to the country.

On this backdrop, Mr Starmer’s administration has been keen to trumpet its success.

A Home Office press release on 31^st March stated that:

24,103 people with “no right” to be in the UK had been returned during the period from 5^th July 2024 to 22^nd March 2025.
This was the highest number seen in any nine-month period since 2017, when 25,225 returns were recorded between January and September.
Of the total returns since 5^th July 2024, 6,339 were enforced returns of people who did not have the legal right to remain in the UK. 3,594 were of foreign-national offenders (FNOs), while 6,781 were asylum-related returns.
The rise in removals includes a 21% rise in enforced returns (which includes deportations), and a 16% increase in FNOs being removed from the UK since 5^th July.
The removals have included the four biggest returns charter flights in the history of the UK, with a total of over 850 people on board.
The period between 5^th July 2024 and 22^nd March 2025 saw 46 charter flights for returns to countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America.

Further information can be found in the GOV.UK website’s pages of transparency data relating to returns over Labour’s first nine months in office, as well as illegal working activity during the same period.

How many people have been deported from the UK in 2025?

As we have written about previously here at Cranbrook Legal, the concepts of “deportation” and “removal” both refer to a form of involuntary departure from the UK. However, there are distinct differences between these two events.

To provide a quick summary:

Deportation is the more legally serious of the two events; it entails an individual being removed from the UK “for the public good”.
Removal is the less legally serious, and comparatively routine, of the two events. It refers to a person being removed from the UK who does not have the right to stay in the country – for example, because of the expiry of their visa.

Unfortunately, both politicians and the media have been responsible over the years for sloppy language failing to make this distinction between removals and deportations clear.

For example, border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said to the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday 31^st March, that the Labour Government had “already deported, sent home, 19,000 people with no right to be here.”
Dame Angela seemed to be referring to earlier figures showing that the total number of returns of people without the right to be in the UK was 18,987, for the period from 5^th July 2024 to 31^st January 2025 (so, the initial almost seven-month period since Labour came to power).

As for the more recently disclosed number of around 24,103 people having been returned between 5^th July 2024 and 22^nd March 2025, we don’t know how many of these returns were officially classed as “deportations”, given that the statistics don’t make this distinction. What is known, however, is that enforced returns – the category of returns that includes deportations – only made up 26% of the 24,103.

How accurate are Labour’s claims about migrant returns?

As well as the ambiguity about the differences between removals and deportations, Dame Angela’s use of the term “sent home” will be interesting to many observers.

Returns of people who are in the UK but who do not have the right to stay in the country fall into two broad categories:

Enforced returns, which are those that the Home Office carries out
Voluntary returns, which are those where someone liable to be returned leaves the UK of their own accord, with or without the Home Office supporting them to do so.

The Home Office uses the term “other verified returns” to describe voluntary returns with no involvement from the Government.

It isn’t clear how many of the voluntary returns may not have had any support from the Government at all.

What does emerge from the figures, however, is that the majority of the reported 24,000 or so returns over Labour’s first nine months involve people who left the UK voluntarily.

Small-boat crossings of the Channel remain an area of concern for ministers

It is also important to note that the Starmer administration remains under considerable pressure over high numbers of small-boat crossings of the English Channel. This factor is believed to have driven much of the Reform UK party’s success in the May 2025 local elections in England.

Indeed, on the same day as Mr Starmer’s speech drawing attention to the 24,000 migrant removals, Sky News noted that:

Since Labour entered Downing Street in July, 29,884 people had been detected crossing the Channel on 542 small boats.
The period between 1^st January and 30^th March 2025 saw a total of 6,642 people cross the Channel. This was 43% higher than during the corresponding period of 2024, when the Rishi Sunak-led Conservative Government was still in place.
It only took until 21^st March for Channel crossings to pass the 5,000 mark for 2025. This was a record level compared to the previous seven years, going back to the first crossings in 2018 – and 24% higher than last year, as well as 36% above the number seen in 2023.

In its most recent statement on the issue on 2^nd May, the Home Office reaffirmed its determination “to end dangerous small-boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.”

What can cause you to be deported from the UK?

At the time of this article being written, part 13 of the UK Immigration Rules – on the topic of deportation – stated that “a deportation order is made on the grounds that the deportation of the person is conducive to the public good.”

Specific “grounds for deportation” are outlined in the Immigration Rules. This section states that a non-UK national – presuming they are not an Irish citizen – will be liable for deportation where:

They have been convicted of a criminal offence for which they have received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more; or
The Secretary of State otherwise considers that the given foreign national’s deportation would be “conducive” to the public good”; or
The individual is the spouse, civil partner, or child aged under 18 of a foreign national who is, or has been ordered to be, deported.

To go into more detail about potential grounds for deportation:

If you are a non-UK national (again, provided that you are not an Irish citizen) who is convicted of an offence and your sentence exceeds 12 months, the Home Office will be entitled to commence a deportation process. In the event of you having committed a crime that could put the safety of the public at risk, the Home Office may conclude that your deportation would be the best course of action to protect the community.
If you are a foreign national who is found guilty of multiple crimes, and the total sentence for these surpasses 12 months, the Home Office will be authorised to initiate proceedings for your deportation.
If you are a foreign national who breaks the law again and again – in other words, you are a persistent offender – this can be another factor that leads the Home Office to decide in favour of your deportation.
Deportation “conducive to the public good” is a legal procedure the UK Government uses to remove foreign nationals who are judged to pose a risk to the country’s society or economy. This process takes into consideration such factors as the given person’s criminal history or participation in activities that are detrimental to social norms and values in the UK, as well as the need to protect public wellbeing and security.

If the Home Secretary determines that the criteria for deportation have been reached for a given individual, they may issue a deportation order.

A deportation order is an official command stating that the non-UK national must be expelled from the country, due to them being considered a potential danger or their presence not being favourable to society.

After the issuing of the order, the targeted individual will be required to leave the country. They may then be barred from re-entering the country until a certain period has passed.

Speak to Cranbrook Legal’s experts about how we can help with your immigration case

If you are affected by any of the issues addressed in this article – for example, because you fear that you may be at risk of removal or deportation from the UK – please feel free to enquire to our central London-based specialists in UK immigration law. You are welcome to fill in and submit our online contact form to book a free consultation with us, or to call 0208 215 0053. When you do, we will be pleased to discuss how we can project-manage your immigration case and help you reach a positive conclusion.