Shabana Mahmood said the latest returns figures should send a message to potential Channel migrants as 113 are sent back, while 8,000 have illegally crossed. The Home Secretary has celebrated the “milestone” victory under Sir Keir Starmer’s one in, one out deal, which he struck with Emmanuel Macron earlier this year. Under the scheme, in return for the migrants sent back to France, the UK has accepted 84 people who arrived here by legal routes.

The scheme aims to deter Channel Crossings with the threat of being sent back to where they launched from if anyone enters the UK illegally. However, since the first deportation flight took off on September 18, more than 8,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the Channel to Britain, official data seen by the Metro has revealed.

At the same time, two migrants who were deported under the UK-France deal have crossed back to Britain in a small boat – one in October and one in November.

An Iranian man, dubbed the ‘hokey cokey’ migrant, was the first to return to the UK after being sent back to France.

The second migrant is understood to have been identified by his photo and fingerprints when he arrived in Britain.

Thirteen flights have taken off so far since September, with more planned, according to the Home Office.

Mike Tapp, minister for migration, told the Metro that the figure of 113 represents the early stages of a scheme which will grow as the Government battles to “iron out” any legal challenges.

“What it does is it starts to seed that doubt into the migrants who are looking to cross that they might be spending up to £10,000 to then be immediately removed,” he said.

“And as it grows further, the deterrence will also grow.”

The Home Secretary is reportedly looking to the Danish government for inspiration on stopping the boats, which turn away around 95% of asylum seekers.

Ms Mahmood said: “If you enter the UK illegally, we will remove you as quickly as possible”.

She added: “We are ramping up action to tackle these unacceptable crossings and remove and deport those with no right to be here.

“We want to go further and faster to scale up these removals, but this shows our scheme is working. I will do whatever it takes to secure our borders.”