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- “This is one person, it is not going to undermine the fundamental basis of this deal,” Kendall told Times Radio
- “This decision is disappointing, but it won’t prevent the rest of that deal going ahead”
LONDON: The UK government on Wednesday insisted its one-for-one migrants deal with France would go ahead after the High Court in London blocked the planned deportation of an Eritrean migrant.
The court’s decision poses another setback to plans to stem the flow of irregular migrants crossing the Channel on small boats, as charities warn the UK-France deal will likely face several legal challenges.
“This is one person, it is not going to undermine the fundamental basis of this deal,” government minister Liz Kendall told Times Radio, after the Eritrean, who was scheduled to be flown to France on Wednesday morning, won an 11th-hour reprieve on Tuesday.
“This decision is disappointing, but it won’t prevent the rest of that deal going ahead,” added Kendall.
Lawyers for the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he faces a “real risk of destitution” if he is sent back to France and brought the case under a scheme which assesses victims of slavery and human trafficking.
A judge granted a 14-day pause to the deportation plans in order for more information to be sought.
Under the “one-in, one-out” deal, the UK can detain and return migrants coming to Britain on small boats if they are deemed ineligible for asylum, including those who have passed through a “safe country” to reach UK shores.
In return, London will accept an equal number of migrants from France who can apply for a UK visa via an online platform under the pilot scheme which came into force in August and is set to run until June 2026.
More than 90 migrants who recently arrived to the UK on small boats have been detained for deportation to France, according to charities.
France will make its first repatriations from Saturday, its interior ministry said.
- ‘Premature’ -
The British returns, which were set to begin early this week, have already seen multiple delays.
Migrants scheduled to be flown from Heathrow Airport to Paris on Air France flights on Monday and Tuesday had their deportations delayed after filing legal claims, according to various charities working with them.
“There’s going to be all sorts of challenges that will be testing the new agreement and where the ground lies,” Pierre Makhlouf from the Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) charity told AFP.
“If the government presumed that the removals would actually take place this week, then they might be premature,” he added.
Under the agreement, those who come to the UK via small boats and are removed to France will be barred from applying for legal routes to re-enter Britain.
“That does mean that those who are here will fight very hard,” said Makhlouf.
Like previous administrations, Starmer’s Labour government has struggled to deter thousands of migrants arriving to UK shores, with more than 31,000 crossing in small boats this year.