Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has accused asylum seekers of making 'vexatious, last-minute claims' to avoid removal to France, as the Home Office announced a review of modern slavery laws to salvage the prime minister's returns deal. The comments follow a High Court injunction that blocked the deportation of a 25-year-old Eritrean man who claimed to be a victim of trafficking.
Mahmood said: 'Migrants suddenly deciding that 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 fight to end vexatious, last-minute claims.' The Home Office has said it will appeal against the ruling, which scuppered plans for a flight to France on Wednesday.
Under the deal signed in July by Sir Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron, the UK agreed to detain Channel claimants and send them back to France in return for taking a similar number of asylum seekers with family ties to the UK. So far, no one has been put on a flight under the scheme.
A legal source criticised the Home Office's approach, saying: 'The reason [trafficking claims] are last minute is because the Home Office isn't identifying those from a known slavery route... and expects vulnerable people to somehow raise it after a torrid journey.' Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Mahmood of 'reacting in panic to the collapse of her gimmick returns deal'.
The unnamed Eritrean man, who arrived in Britain by small boat on 12 August, was granted extra time to submit evidence of his trafficking claim. The Home Office still plans to send some failed asylum seekers to France this week, while France is expected to fly asylum seekers to the UK on Saturday as part of the agreement.
