![\"Fiona](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/4153a330-174a-4c8d-af9b-7a70fa89b02c.jpg.webp.webp\")
Image source, Mentorn MediaImage caption, <\/p>\nHas Labour deported and removed 50,000 people since coming into office?published at 11:02 GMT<\/p>\n
11:02 GMT<\/p>\n
Gerry Georgieva
BBC Verify researcher<\/p>\n
Image source, Mentorn MediaImage caption, <\/p>\n
Fiona Bruce hosted a BBC Question Time immigration special from Dover<\/p>\n
BBC Question Time ran an immigration special last night – you can watch it here on BBC iPlayer<\/a> – which saw Immigration Minister Mike Tapp clash with Reform UK\u2019s Zia Yusuf over the number of people deported from the UK.<\/p>\n Tapp said Labour has \u201cdeported and removed nearly 50,000\u201d people but Yusuf argued \u201ca very tiny fraction of those are actual deportations\u201d. <\/p>\n There were 48,560, external<\/a> , external<\/a>\u201creturns\u201d, external<\/a> between 1 July 2024 and 31 October 2025, external<\/a>.<\/p>\n These figures are broken down into either \u201cenforced\u201d returns or \u201cvoluntary\u201d returns.<\/p>\n Enforced returns might involve an immigration officer escorting someone on to a flight out of the UK, and would include deportations – but there is no publicly available breakdown for this specific category. <\/p>\n Some voluntary returns might involve the government – for, example through financial assistance to help someone with travel or resettlement costs – but in other cases people will have left the UK independently without the government\u2019s knowledge at the time. <\/p>\n Only 12,529 of the total 48,560 returns were, external<\/a> , external<\/a>\u201cenforced\u201d, with 36,031 being recorded as “voluntary”.<\/p>\n