A second migrant has been deported to France under Sir Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” deal after losing a High Court bid to have his removal temporarily blocked.
An Eritrean man was on a flight that left Heathrow for Paris at 6.15am on Friday, the Home Office confirmed.
The failed asylum seeker had said he was a victim of trafficking, but the Home Office argued that there was not enough evidence for him to qualify for modern slavery support.
Mr Justice Sheldon told the High Court late on Thursday that it was “clear” that the migrant would have the opportunity to submit a trafficking claim in France.
The Eritrean said he had been kidnapped and forced to work in Libya, but Home Office decision-makers said they did not believe his account.
His failed bid came after the first migrant, reportedly an Indian national, was removed under the UK-France treaty on Thursday morning.
Announcing the news of the return, home secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “This is an important first step to securing our borders. It sends a message to people crossing in small boats: if you enter the UK illegally, we will seek to remove you.”
Another Eritrean asylum seeker was successful in delaying his deportation to France on Tuesday. Mr Justice Sheldon decided in that case to give the migrant 14 days to submit further evidence in his modern slavery claim.
The Home Office have said that it will appeal the decision, claiming that asylum seekers are submitting “vexatious, last-minute” claims to block their removal.
It comes as hundreds of migrants have tried to cross the Channel as the deportation took place.
At least one inflatable dinghy full of young men made its way out to sea from Gravelines beach, northeast Calais, at daybreak on Friday.
As the boat came close to shore, people waded through waist-high water towards it and a child was passed aboard before it went out to sea.
In the town itself, at about 5.30am, a group of 40 young men suddenly appeared from a quiet side street carrying an inflatable boat over their heads before launching it into a canal.
Police officers watched on from the bank as the driver of the boat struggled to keep it in a straight line.
Earlier in the night, a group of men formed a human chain to help haul people out of the mud after a failed attempt to launch a boat in the canal.
