The High Court has temporarily blocked the removal of an Eritrean man who was expected to be sent to France under ‘one in one out’ deal with France to tackle small boat crossings
Keir Starmer has suffered a major blow after a High Court ruling that an Eritrean man will not be deported to France on Wednesday.
The man – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was set to be removed under the Government’s “one in, one out” scheme. He is bringing a legal claim against the Home Office, asking the court for a block on his removal.
He was due to be on a flight to France at 9am on Wednesday, but has been granted a temporary reprieve. The Home Office said that it was reasonable to expect the man, who arrived after crossing the Channel, to claim asylum in France.
On Tuesday evening, Mr Justice Sheldon said: “I am going to grant a short period of interim relief.” He said the court should make a decision that “preserves the status quo”.
The High Court judge continued: “The status quo is that the claimant is currently in this country and has not been removed. So, I make an order that the claimant should not be removed tomorrow at 9am, but that this matter should come back to this court as soon as is reasonably practical in light of the further representations that the claimant … will make on his trafficking decision.”
The judgment came after a decision from the national referral mechanism (NRM) – which identifies and assesses victims of slavery and human trafficking – and the invitation from the NRM for the man to make further representations.
A new pilot scheme was agreed with the French government in July in a bid to tackle small boat crossings. Last month the first wave of detentions were made, and they have been held at an immigration removal centre pending their removal from the country.
Under the arrangement, the UK will send back to France asylum seekers who have crossed the Channel, in exchange for those who apply and are approved to come to Britain.
Despite the ongoing legal challenge, Downing Street insisted it expects deportations to begin “imminently”, with the Prime Minister’s official spokesman saying “for obvious reasons we’re not going to get into a running commentary on operational details before that”. Sonali Naik KC, for the unnamed man, told the court on Tuesday the man faces a “real risk of destitution” if he is put on a flight to France.
Ms Naik KC said there is “a serious issue to be tried” about whether or not the man would be destitute if returned to France. The barrister continued: “We are not dealing with a charter flight, it is simply a postponement.”
Ms Naik told the court the case “concerns a trafficking claim” and that her client, who alleges he has a gunshot wound in his leg, claims he is vulnerable. The court heard that about a third of asylum seekers in France are not accommodated and they are given a daily allowance of 7.50 euros.
Kate Grange KC, for the Home Office, said in written submissions that the man travelled to Italy in April 2025, before travelling to France and arriving in the UK in August 2025. She continued: “The claimant asserts that he was destitute, but no less than two charities had indicated they would provide him with accommodation if he claimed asylum.
“It is no answer that the claimant had friends who had claimed asylum and were living on the street, or that he wasn’t sure how long accommodation was being offered. He could have claimed asylum.”
Ms Grange continued that the agreement between the UK and France “pursues an important public objective”. She added: “Serious injury and death, including of children, from small boat crossings in the English Channel is a grave social and political concern at the present time.”