A second deportation flight due to take off under Sir Keir Starmer’s new “one in, one out” deal with France has left the country without any migrants on board.
It is the second day in a row that the Home Office has failed to deport migrants on flights intended to get the returns deal underway.
Several migrants due to be among the first removed to France under the deal have had their removal delayed after legal challenges.
The Home Office has booked seats for migrants on several flights this week, with asylum seekers given directions for deportation on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with more than two flights planned for Wednesday, The Independent understands.
Downing Street denied that the government’s return deal with France was a shambles, or that its plans had been hampered by legal action. A spokesperson for No 10 also denied that the latest postponement showed ministers were powerless in the face of the courts, adding: “As I said, we have never provided an operational running commentary on the details of the scheme.”
Asylum seekers are believed to have issued letters before action to the Home Office, detailing why they should not be removed to France, and officials have cancelled their plane tickets and deportation notices. No cases have yet reached the courts, but they could do if the Home Office decides to continue with their removal.
The issue is a massive blow to Sir Keir, who is trying to turn around a 10-point deficit behind Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the polls, with the worsening migrant crisis being a key issue.
There are high hopes that the one in, one out deal with France will break the business model of the gangs behind the small boats but legal delays look set to scupper hopes of an early success.
The issue has brought back memories of the notorious Rwanda scheme with the Tories, which failed after it was tied up in legal knots.
A government source said the first deportation flights under the deal with France are expected to take place this week.
Some of the asylum seekers detained at Brook House detention centre, at Gatwick, under the scheme with France are believed to be survivors of torture and trafficking.
Some migrants detained under the scheme have also received Home Office decisions saying that there are reasonable grounds to believe that they may be a victim of modern slavery, it is understood.
The Independent previously reported that children, who brought age-dispute claims after they were treated as adults, were detained for removal to France but have since been released into the care of the local council.
At least 12 children whose ages are disputed have been detained under the scheme, with four still in detention, support workers said.
Earlier on Monday, skills minister Jacqui Smith refused to say how many people will be returned to France this week under the deal.
The French are reported to have said they will only be accepting a small initial contingent of deportations.
Ministers have previously said the scheme will ramp up the number of deportations over time. But justice minister Alex Davies-Jones on Tuesday refused to say when deportations would actually be carried out under the scheme.
Ms Davies Jones declined to give a “running commentary” on when deportations would occur, claiming this would give people smugglers “exactly what they want”.
Asked when migrants would be returned to France, she said: “These deportations will be happening as soon as possible.”
But she declined to say when, or whether asylum seekers due to arrive from France as part of the scheme would still fly to the UK later this week.
The Conservatives said Labour is “too weak to control our borders” and called for the complete repeal of the Human Rights Act for immigration matters.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Two flights, zero deportations. Labour’s France returns deal failed to remove a single migrant, yet thousands more continue to arrive. The government must come clean on whether even one person has been sent to us from France in return.”
The scheme will see the UK send asylum seekers back to France who have crossed the Channel, in exchange for those who apply and are approved to come to Britain.
The charity Detention Action warned that some migrants are having their screening interviews held after midnight, with some conducted by phone and video conference. This is resulting in poor quality assessments, they said.
The legal advice service is also fraught with delays and migrants only have seven days to challenge their removal to France.
Lochlinn Parker, acting director of the charity, said: “Adults and children are arriving from Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria and elsewhere, seeking our protection, only to be locked in small cells and denied the support they urgently need. The new home secretary must change course and stop putting people in even more danger.”
Migrants detained for deportation to France include those from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan and Syria, and Kurdish people from a number of countries.
Griff Ferris, at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said the scheme was “just another grim attempt by a government flailing to appease the racist far right. People are not tokens to be exchanged in this dehumanising and immoral way.”
The group are organising a phone call and email campaign against Air France, urging them to stop allowing people to be deported on their flights.
The number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel has topped 30,000 for the year so far.
It is the earliest point in a calendar year at which the 30,000 mark has been passed since data on the crossings was first reported in 2018.
A Home Office spokesperson said the department would “not comment on operational details” of the flights.
The spokesperson said: "Under the new UK-France Treaty, people crossing in small boats can now be detained and removed to France. We expect the first returns to take place imminently.
“Protecting the UK border is our top priority. We will do whatever it takes to restore order to secure our borders.”
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