A cabinet minister has said attempts to deport asylum seekers could be delayed in the courts, amid confusion over whether there is a human rights “loophole” in the UK’s migration deal with France.
The “one in, one out” agreement will see migrants ineligible to stay in the UK sent back across the Channel. In exchange, the UK will take from France those who have links to Britain.
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The treaty contains a clause that says in order for people to be returned, the UK must confirm they do not have an “outstanding human rights claim”.
Critics have argued this could risk bogus applications being made to frustrate the deportation process and cause delays.
Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, said it was an obvious “loophole” in the deal.
However, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News this was “not the case at all”.
“The deal that we’ve struck will allow people with us to send people back to France who have human rights claims. Those claims will be heard in France,” she said.
But despite denying there was a loophole, Ms Nandy admitted deportations could get held up in UK the courts.
She said: “Obviously there are people who will try to frustrate the process through the courts, but we’re speeding up the court process to make sure that those delays will be minimal and we will be able to return people to France so that, if they have an asylum claim, for example, that claim can be heard in France if they’ve travelled through France on the way here on small boats.”
When asked for clarity, the Home Office insisted people can be removed from the UK if they have made a human rights claim which is “clearly unfounded” in UK law.
It is understood that preparations have been made for judicial challenges against these decisions to be heard by UK courts from France, though sources suggested that once France has agreed to accept a return, there is no way back.
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The charity Care4Calais said it would consider its options, with a spokesperson telling Sky News: “Care4Calais initiated legal challenges against the last government’s Rwanda policy and their attempts to introduce ‘pushbacks’ in the Channel – and we won.
“We will consider all options open to us to oppose any plans that will put more lives at risk, and involve governments trading humans.”
The government is under pressure for the scheme to work as Channel crossings have risen to a record high under their watch, despite a promise in the Labour manifesto to “smash the gangs”.
Row as crossings continue
A row broke out on Wednesday afternoon after Mr Philp shared footage from Calais showing migrants making the journey from France to England.
The senior Tory claimed this showed the government’s deal “is not deterring anyone”.
Dame Angela Eagle, the border security minister, accused him of being a “hypocrite”, saying thousands of people crossed the Channel while the Tories tried and failed to get their Rwanda scheme going.
She said the deal with France “will take time and it will be hard” but insisted it will ” make an important contribution to the all-out assault we are waging against the business model of the smuggling gangs, which was allowed to flourish and grow for six years while your government was in charge”.
“That is the difference between having a serious and comprehensive plan to fix this crisis, and just standing in a boat pointing at it. I hope you’re getting a nice tan, though,” she said.
The deal with France is one of a number of measures the government has implemented to crack down on small boat crossings.
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Ministers have refused to say how many people could be sent back across the Channel, claiming that would benefit smuggling gangs.
However, reports have suggested that about 50 a week could be sent to France – a small number compared to the 800 people every week on average who have arrived in the UK via small boats this year.
Bruno Retailleau, France’s interior minister, said the agreement “establishes an experimental mechanism whose goal is clear: to smash the gangs”.
The initial agreement will be in place until June 2026.
