LABOUR’S flagship returns deal with France could be thwarted by the High Court in a last-minute legal challenge.
An urgent application has been made against the Home Office with a hearing at 4pm this afternoon.
Rows of seats were left empty after the second ‘one in, one out’ flight left without migrants onboard
Flights were due to take off for the Government’s one-in-one-out deal with Paris this week
Charities and lawyers have so far frustrated the Home Office’s plan to return failed asylum seekers
Flights were due to take off for the Government’s one-in-one-out deal with Paris this week – but have so far left with no migrants onboard.
Charities and lawyers have so far frustrated the Home Office’s plan to return failed asylum seekers detained last month under a pact with Emmanuel Macron.
London’s High Court was told the man in the case being heard this afternoon is due to be removed from the UK at 9am tomorrow.
Sonali Naik KC, for the unnamed man, said a decision under the national referral mechanism decision – which identifies and assesses victims of slavery and human trafficking – was pending.
Shortly after the hearing began, judge Mr Justice Sheldon paused the hearing to read a document.
He added: “I want only to hear argument for an hour maximum so that I can make a decision.”
It comes after the deportation flight took off without a single boat migrant on board — in another huge blow for Sir Keir Starmer.
An Air flight from Heathrow to Charles de Gaulle airport in after more last-minute challenges again blocked the start of the deportation pact.
Several pairs of seats were left empty on the flight when Air France staff told The Sun it had been fully reserved.
Some passengers moved into the vacated seats after take-off to give themselves more room.
The 45-minute flight took off without any asylum seekers on board and with no staff from either the Border Force or Mitie, the contractor agency which runs the Harmondsworth Removal Centre.
It landed in Paris shortly after 11.30am European time.
At least one asylum seeker had been told they would be deported on this morning’s flight after they were pulled off a plane on Monday afternoon, which also went ahead without any migrants.
It is thought that several others were told they would be flown home this morning but appear to have been prevented from travelling at the last moment.
The delay is another massive blow for Sir who had hoped the to would-be migrants crossing the channel.
Shadow Home Secretary said: “The government is too naive to realise this.
“They have not scrapped the in matters or, indeed, the use of modern slavery claims as a pretext to stay in Britain.
“What we should do is deport every single illegal immigrant immediately on arrival.”
But the government has faced major criticism as since the deal came into effect last month, some have arrived on UK shores.
Those being sent back to have been given of the ‘s intention to deport them, The Times reported.
But this will mean that anyone will be able to seek legal advice and potentially fight the decision.
Commercial planes are being used to keep costs at a minimum rather than charter private flights.
It’s expected that will be sent back to France as part of the pilot scheme.
But this year alone, some 31,026 migrants have arrived in the UK on small boats.
The scheme, created while Yvette Cooper served as Home Secretary, was blasted last month as useless by former immigration minister Robert Jenrick.
He told the he and former PM had pushed for France to accept “every single illegal ” in a deal.
He said: “The French said no, and said no again to when he’s tried to do the same.
“The answer is to have a proper deterrent — sorting out our human rights laws, leaving the and then ensuring we actually deport everyone.”
However, Attorney General Lord Hermer said leaving the treaty would actually to end the Channel crisis.
The delay is another massive blow for Sir Keir Starmer who had hoped the pilot scheme would act as a deterrent to would-be migrants crossing the channel
This year alone, some 31,026 migrants have arrived in the UK on small boats MIKE GRAHAM With backlog of 120k migrants, here’s why Labour’s ‘one in, one out’ plan will not work & prove Starmer is paper tiger
CUTTING down on illegal immigration is a simple numbers game.
If you deport more people than you let in, eventually the numbers of will be reduced.
While this, for most of us, is a statement of the obvious, it has clearly not been understood by any of the last few Home Secretaries.
And it certainly isn’t understood by the current .
In what looks like becoming one of the most difficult weeks in government for Sir Keir Starmer, he is hoping that , his new Home Secretary, will be able to pull off a manoeuvre that could save his job.
More than 5,500 illegal migrants on our shores since , the last Home Secretary, announced a new plan to return them to France last month.
So far, not one has been sent back.
But that is supposedly all about to change.
According to the Home Office, dozens of migrants this week on commercial flights from Heathrow to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
They will each be accompanied by “escorts” from private contractors Mitie Care and Custody, and they will sit among tourists and business passengers — supposedly to keep costs down.
This is what has become known as the “” scheme.
Which would be fine, except that it isn’t.
It’s very obvious that the very notion of one in, one out would only work as a deterrent if every illegal migrant was earmarked for removal.
And that is simply not what is happening.
According to the Home Office, just over 100 illegal migrants have been since the new deal came into force on August 6.
They have been held at the removal centre near Heathrow.
If all goes well, some of them will be sent back.
But there’s lots of reasons why we shouldn’t get too excited about this new scheme.
First, every single illegal migrant is entitled to a legal appeal against their removal.
While the Government is promising to fast-track them, each appeal could take weeks or even months.
There is already a backlog of cases currently running at more than 120,000.
At this speed of deportation, the will be at it for years just to clear the people already here illegally — never mind those entering every single week.
Secondly, of those who are returned to France, they will each be substituted by another migrant who has been granted permission to apply for asylum legally.
So, effectively, we will be flying out illegal migrants, and flying in the same number to take their places in the queue.
It is the mathematics of , and it is bound to fail.
