🔗 Share this article

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has confirmed that Keir Starmer’s returns agreement with France remains on track, even after a judicial ruling temporarily halted the removal of an asylum-seeking man.

The minister emphasized that the last-minute injunction stopping the 25-year-old from being flown to Paris will not derail the “one in, one out” plan in the long term.

Earlier this week, a judge granted a temporary halt after the unnamed man claimed he was a trafficked individual and would face destitution if returned to France.

Kendall told Times Radio that she would not discuss operational details, but added: “This is one person, It is not going to undermine the core principle of this deal.”

Judicial and Operational Challenges

Legal representative acting for migrants criticized the administration’s “arbitrary and chaotic approach” to choosing individuals for deportation, including cases where minors were wrongly targeted.

The lawyer from Wilsons commented: “They have taken quite an arbitrary and chaotic approach in choosing people arriving on small boats.”

She noted that minors were included in the system even though guidelines state they must be exempted from deportation plans.

Reports suggested that two 17-year-old boys were wrongly selected for the program previously.

Background of the Deal

UK authorities last month held dozens Channel asylum seekers under the scheme, vowing to send them back to France “within weeks.”

Initially, deportations were scheduled on commercial flights from London to Paris during this week, but no one have been sent back so far.

Officials now face the possibility of additional legal challenges and setbacks. Insiders confirmed that at least several additional people were earmarked for removal this week.

Some critics have compared the situation to the previous administration’s Rwanda deportation plan, which encountered repeated court obstacles. However, unlike that scheme, the present appeals involve individual cases rather than the entire program.

Terms of the Deal

As part of the deal, finalized in July by the UK leader and Emmanuel Macron, the UK agreed to hold small boat claimants and send them back to France. In return, France would accept a similar number of asylum seekers with relatives in the UK.

Starmer said at the time: “There is no simple solution. but with a joint attempt, new tactics and a greater degree of determination, we can finally turn the tables.”

On Tuesday night, the judge who issued the short-term injunction stated that further investigation was needed to examine the man’s claim that he was a possible victim of human trafficking.

The court heard that the man and his mother had gone to Ethiopia when he was very small, and that he was later taken illegally from there to Libya in 2023.

The applicant said he had then traveled via Italy to France, and entered the UK by dinghy on 12 August after his mother gave £1,000 to traffickers.

Future Plans

France has been planning to send asylum seekers to the UK over the weekend as part of the two-way agreement.

An official representative said: “The first migrants are still scheduled to arrive in France from the UK this week. and the initial departures from France will start on Saturday.”