Shabana Mahmood said it was ‘intolerable’ that last minute legal appeals can prevent removals to France under a new agreement, and vowed to ‘fight them at every step’
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has issued a scathing response after an asylum seeker’s removal to France was blocked by the High Court.
The Eritrean man was set to be deported on Wednesday morning but was given a temporary reprieve after bringing a legal claim. He was expected to be the first small boat arrival to be removed under the new ‘one in one out’ agreement.
Ms Mahmood pledged to fight against the ruling. She fumed: “Last minute attempts to frustrate a removal are intolerable, and I will fight them at every step.
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“Migrants suddenly deciding that they are a modern slave on the eve of their removal, having never made such a claim before, make a mockery of our laws and this country’s generosity.
“I will fight to end vexatious, last-minute claims. I will robustly defend the British public’s priorities in any court. And I will do whatever it takes to secure our border.”
The man – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was due to be on a flight to France at 9am on Wednesday. However Mr Justice Sheldon ruled he should be given a period of interim relief. He was given 14 days to challenge his deportation.
Sonali Naik KC, representing the unnamed man, told the High Court on Tuesday the man faces a “real risk of destitution” if he is put on a flight to France. Ms Naik said 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. The Home Office says the man travelled to Italy in April this year before travelling to the UK via France last monht.
Kate Grange KC, for the Home Office, said in written submissions: “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.”
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall insisted: “This decision is disappointing, but it won’t prevent the rest of that deal going ahead.” Under the agreement, reached in July, people who arrive by small boat face being returned to France.
It is the first return agreement between the two countries since Brexit. The deal will see an equal number of people with legitimate claims to come to the UK being sent the other way.
Initially it is expected to be capped at around 50 a week, but the Government hopes this can be scaled up.
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