UK deports first migrant to France under Starmer’s ‘one in, one out’ deal

UK on Thursday deported first migrant to France under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” asylum agreement with Paris, as London bids to curb arrivals on small boats crossing the Channel.

According to an Independent report, citing government sources, the individual, who arrived in the UK by small boat in August, was flown from Heathrow to Paris on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, the UK officials are expecting the first group of asylum seekers to arrive in the UK from France under the reciprocal arrangement in the coming days.

Additional deportation flights are scheduled for later this week and into next, added the report.

The news comes after the home secretary Shabana Mahmood vowed to review modern slavery laws after the High Court blocked an Eritrean asylum seeker’s removal from the UK under the deal.

The deportation, first reported by The Telegraph, comes after three days of unsuccessful attempts by the Home Office to remove migrants under the new UK-France returns scheme.

The individual deported on Thursday is an Indian national, reported the Independent, adding, French authorities are preparing to receive another migrant later today as part of the same agreement.

According to the report, officials are understood to have specifically selected an Indian national due to an existing bilateral arrangement between France and India allowing for enforced returns.

The UK-France returns pilot is set to run until June 2026.

“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,” said Home Secretary Mahmood announcing the news of the first return to France.

On Tuesday, the High Court granted a last-minute injunction to a 25-year-old Eritrean man, halting his deportation to Paris scheduled for Wednesday.

Home Secretary Mahmood responded, saying: “Last-minute attempts to frustrate a removal are intolerable,” and vowed to “fight them at every step,” confirming the Home Office would appeal the decision.

The appeal will seek to reduce the time available to challenge negative modern slavery rulings. A “rapid review” of modern slavery laws is also underway to curb alleged misuse, reported the Independent.

Mahmood said asylum seekers were making “vexatious, last-minute” modern slavery claims.

Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Eleanor Lyons criticised the remarks, warning they “would put lives at risk.”

Several migrants due for deportation this week under the “one in, one out” scheme had removal directions withdrawn after submitting pre-action legal letters.

The Home Office has agreed to review some cases, added the report.

Detention Action, which is supporting 28 detainees under the UK-France deal, said four had scheduled removals between Monday and Wednesday, all of which were cancelled or deferred. Two more face deportation later this week or early next.

Of the 28, seven show indicators of trafficking, but only one has been referred for modern slavery support.

Kolbassia Haoussou from Freedom from Torture also condemned  Mahmood’s comments

“As a survivor of torture, I know just how harmful it is to dismiss late asylum disclosures as ‘vexatious’. Trauma, fear and a hostile system silence people, not dishonesty. I stayed silent at first because I didn’t feel safe. Only with proper legal advice could I finally share the truth,” the Independent quoted Haoussou as saying.

With inputs from agencies