It is understood the pilot returns scheme between the UK and France will run until June 2026, as ITV News Correspondents Peter Smith and Shehab Khan report
An Eritrean man is set to be deported to France under its new returns deal with the UK after losing a High Court bid to have his removal temporarily blocked.
It makes him the second person to be removed under the “one-in, one-out” scheme agreed earlier this year, with the Home Office confirming on Thursday that the first, an Indian national, had been deported.
The migrant, who cannot be named, arrived in the UK on a small boat last month and brought a claim against the Home Office on Thursday ahead of his scheduled removal from the UK at 6.15am on Friday.
At a hearing in London, his barristers asked for “interim relief” ahead of a full legal challenge against the decision to deport him.
They said that the decision was “procedurally unfair” as he had not been given sufficient opportunity to put forward evidence supporting his claim that he was an “alleged trafficking victim”.
The Home Office opposed the bid to temporarily block the removal, telling the court that there was “no serious issue to be tried”.
In a ruling, Mr Justice Sheldon said: “In my judgment, the application for interim relief is refused. The test for injunctive relief is not made out. I consider that there is no serious issue to be tried in this case.”
The scheme had reportedly been due to start earlier this week, with the government understood to have booked several seats on commercial flights to France.
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.
Under the deal, the UK will send back to France asylum seekers who have crossed the Channel, in exchange for those who apply and are approved to come to Britain.
Legal challenges saw the migrants due to be deported earlier in the week removed from flights.
On Thursday, the Home Office confirmed a man who had arrived in the UK by small boat in August was removed on a commercial flight to France.
It went on to confirm further flights were expected to take place this week and the next, with the first arrivals from France of those applying via the “legal route” expected in the coming days.
The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the first deportation as “an important first step to securing our borders,” going on to claim it sent the message that “if you enter the UK illegally, we will seek to remove you.”
It is understood the pilot returns scheme between the UK and France will run until June 2026.
On Tuesday, the first legal challenge in relation to these migrant deportations was heard by the High Court.
A judge ruled in favour of the unnamed Eritrean man who claimed he had been the victim of modern-day slavery, granting him a “short period of interim relief,” ahead of his 9am flight to France the following day.
Responding to the judgment, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Last-minute attempts to frustrate a removal are intolerable, and I will fight them at every step.
“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.”
Her comments drew criticism from the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, who said the claims put vulnerable lives at risk.
The Home Office said it would lodge an appeal on Thursday against Tuesday’s ruling, which gave the Eritrean man 14 days to prove his claim that he was a victim of modern slavery. The Home Office is also reviewing anti-slavery laws.
Speaking earlier in the week, government minister Liz Kendall acknowledged the returns deal was not a “silver bullet,” and would form just one part of a wider strategy to meet the government’s stated aim of dismantling people smuggling gangs responsible for the illegal crossings.
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