The Home Office will appeal against the High Court’s decision to temporarily block the deportation of an Eritrean man to France under the government’s “one in, one out” scheme, Shabana Mahmood has confirmed.
Speaking for the first time since the court’s decision on Tuesday, the new home secretary said: “Last minute attempts to frustrate a removal are intolerable, and I will fight them at every step.”
Ms Mahmood added that she will “fight to end vexatious, last-minute claims” and “robustly defend the British public’s priorities”.
Yesterday evening, the High Court granted an Eritrean man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, a “short period of interim relief” ahead of his deportation to France scheduled for a 9am flight this morning.
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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has pledged to fight the temporary block on the man’s deportation. Pic: PA
Lawyers acting on the man’s behalf said the case “concerns a trafficking claim” and her client, who alleges he has a gunshot wound in his leg, claims he is vulnerable and faces a risk of “destitution” in France.
The Home Office defended the case, saying it was reasonable to expect the man to claim asylum in France.
Mr Justice Sheldon ruled that while there did not appear to be a “real risk” the man would be destitute in France, the trafficking claim required further interrogation.
The man would have been the first person to be returned to France under the terms of the UK-France deal, which was signed in July and led to the first people being detained after crossing the Channel in August.
In a statement, Ms Mahmood added: “Migrants suddenly deciding they are a modern slave on the eve of their removal, having never made such a claim before, make a mockery of our laws and this country’s generosity.
“I will do whatever it takes to secure our border.”
She has also announced she will review the Modern Slavery Act to see where it is currently open to misuse.
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The agreement, which was signed in July, saw migrants first detained on 6 August, and they will now be flown back to the continent.
The Home Office has confirmed the temporary block on the man’s deportation will be challenged in the courts, and that lawyers acting for the man have 14 days to provide proof for their claim that he has been trafficked to the UK.
It also insisted that the first deportation flight under the UK-France migrants returns deal will still take place this week.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch was quick to criticise the government over the ruling on Tuesday, saying: “We told you so”.
Responding to Ms Mahmood’s comments, the Tories’ Chris Philp said the home secretary “is reacting in panic to the collapse of her gimmick returns deal”.
The shadow home secretary added: “No one is fooled by tough talk from Labour. They will never do the hard work needed to tackle the lawfare that blocks removals.
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Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said there will be more “border chaos” because the government is “weak”.
“The truth is, Labour is run by human rights lawyers – Keir Starmer and Lord Hermer – who have always sided with open borders activists over security and control.”
Mr Philp added that the “weak government will continue to preside over borders chaos”.
Reform UK has repeatedly criticised the policy and has also hit back at the home secretary following her statement.
Zia Yusuf, the party’s head of policy, said: “These are empty words from a home secretary who is out of her depth.
“Without a total legal reset, including leaving the ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights] and disapplying international treaties like the 1951 Refugee Convention, activist lawyers will continue abusing the legal system to prevent deportations.”
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Reforn UK’s Zia Yusuf has warned “activists lawyers will continue abusing the legal system” unless the government leaves the ECHR. Pic: PA
What is the scheme?
The pilot scheme was announced to much fanfare in July, after French President Emmanuel Macron made a state visit to the UK.
Sir Keir Starmer had hoped the agreement – which would see the UK send asylum seekers who have crossed the Channel back to France in exchange for legal migrants with links to Britain – would prove more resilient to court challenges than the Tories’ Rwanda plan.
He wants the number of migrants being returned to France to gradually increase over the course of the scheme, to deter them from coming in small boats.
The pilot came into force last month and is in place until June 2026.
