Deportations of migrants under the Government's "one in, one out" deal with France are yet to begin, with reports of planned removals being halted. A second Air France flight departed from Heathrow on Tuesday without any migrants on board, according to reports. A small group of migrants were also said to have been removed from a flight on Monday after a legal challenge.
An Eritrean man will not be deported to France on Wednesday under the scheme after he won his High Court bid to have the removal temporarily blocked on Tuesday. Ministers agreed the pilot scheme with the French government in July as part of efforts to deter the record number of arrivals by small boat crossings so far this year.
Downing Street denied that the deal was a shambles or that its plans had been hampered by the courts. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the Government would provide an update on detentions as soon as possible, insisting returns would take place "imminently". Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones also declined to give a "running commentary" on deportations.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said it was "extraordinary" that the first deportations were reportedly postponed, adding: "They failed to get anybody out, and we're still taking in more people from France." Reform UK's head of policy Zia Yusuf criticised the scheme as "hollow and unworkable" and called for leaving the ECHR and a total legal reset.
A Government source said the first deportation flights are expected to take place this week, with the first flight bringing migrants to the UK reportedly scheduled for Saturday. Some 31,026 people have made the Channel crossing so far this year, a record number since data collection began in 2018.
