An Eritrean migrant has become the latest person removed from the United Kingdom under the government’s “one in, one out” arrangement with France, after a last-minute court bid to halt his deportation was unsuccessful.
He is the second Channel migrant to be transferred to France under the pilot scheme, despite his lawyers’ argument that he may have been a victim of human trafficking.
The man was escorted by Home Office staff on a flight from Heathrow to Paris on Friday morning.
The ruling came just hours after the Home Office introduced stricter rules on how claims of modern slavery by Channel migrants are assessed, making it harder to resist removal to France.
The initiative, launched just over a month ago, allows the UK to send back one migrant in exchange for accepting another with a stronger asylum case.
Both governments say the scheme is aimed at discouraging dangerous Channel crossings, although neither claims it will completely stop them.
On Friday, the Eritrean man boarded an Air France service wearing a white hoodie, seated alongside three UK officials with Home Office passes.
The flight landed at Charles de Gaulle airport around 07:30 BST, where he was handed over to French police.
Speaking briefly to the BBC, he admitted, “I feel very bad” about being returned to France. When asked what his next steps would be, he replied: “I don’t know,” before being led away.
The case highlights the mixed fortunes the government has faced this week in its bid to tighten immigration control.
Another Eritrean man secured a temporary reprieve from removal through a late legal challenge, while an Indian national was flown to France without contest on Thursday.
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast, “These are the first steps and we will be ramping up from here.”
The man had arrived in the UK by small boat in August. During an emergency hearing on Thursday, Mr Justice Sheldon ruled there was no legal justification to stop his transfer, despite the trafficking claims.
“There is no serious issue to be tried in this case that the claimant has been denied procedural fairness,” the judge said, stressing that there was “significant public interest” in the government’s efforts to curb people smuggling. He added that the migrant could pursue his case in France.
In his judgment, Justice Sheldon also noted inconsistencies in the man’s trafficking account, concluding it was reasonable for the Home Office to doubt his claims.
The Eritrean national had previously described fleeing forced military service in 2019 before travelling through Ethiopia, South Sudan and Libya.
He said he lived rough in France before reaching Dunkirk and attempting the Channel crossing.
The policy shift on modern slavery claims means individuals who lose protection cases on trafficking grounds can only appeal after removal.
The government recently appealed another case in which an Eritrean man delayed his return under the same grounds.
Meanwhile, crossings continue. Improved weather on Friday saw at least three boats depart French beaches. Home Office figures show 30,164 people have crossed the Channel in small boats so far in 2025, the highest number recorded by early September compared to previous years.
During a joint press conference with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday, US President Donald Trump suggested deploying the military to tackle illegal crossings.
Sir Keir rejected that approach, pointing instead to “a number of cooperation deals with other countries” and insisting the government was taking the issue “incredibly seriously.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the removal demonstrated that “if you enter the UK illegally, we will seek to remove you.”
Around 100 men are currently being held in immigration detention near Heathrow under the UK-France deal.
Since the scheme began in August, roughly 5,590 migrants have reached the UK by small boats.
