Migrant to be deported in 'one-in-one-out' scheme after losing High Court bid

An Eritrean man is set to be deported to France tomorrow as part of the government's "one-in, one-out" scheme, after losing a High Court bid.

At a hearing in London, his barristers asked for "interim relief" ahead of a full legal challenge against the decision to deport him. His legal team said 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 High Court 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."

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The judge said that the man claimed he was "forced to flee Eritrea in 2019 because of forced conscription" and spent time in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Libya.

He travelled to France, where he stayed in Paris for around a week, and the man claimed that he was "homeless and destitute, and constantly feared for his life". He then went to Dunkirk, where he stayed in an encampment known as "the jungle" for around three weeks, without claiming asylum in France.

The man arrived in the UK via a small boat and was detained by the UK Border Force on August 6, and was told that his asylum claim in the UK was inadmissible on August 9, Justice Sheldon added.

This comes after another Eritrean man successfully asked the court on Tuesday to temporarily block his deportation after the same judge found there was a "serious issue to be tried" over whether his removal was lawful amid claims he had been trafficked.

In that case, the court heard that the national referral mechanism (NRM) – which identifies and assesses victims of slavery and human trafficking – found that the man had likely not been trafficked, but offered him time to make further representations.

Following Tuesday’s hearing, the Home Office revised its policy on reconsidering modern slavery decisions, so that anyone being removed to a safe country who wants to appeal against an NRM decision will be unable to do so. Instead, they can launch a legal challenge from another country, such as France.

The first migrant to be sent back to France under the new 'one-in, one-out deal' was an Indian national who arrived to the UK by small boat last month. He was deported to France by plane on Thursday morning.