First migrant deportation flight from UK does not take off as planned

• The inaugural flight intended to return Channel migrants to France under Sir Keir Starmer's "one in, one out" deal did not proceed as planned.
• A small group of migrants were removed from an Air France flight travelling from Heathrow to Paris on Monday following a legal challenge.
• The passenger flight departed without any migrants on board, despite the Home Office having booked seats for them.
• Government sources maintain that the first deportation flights under the agreement with France are still expected to take place this week, with the scheme designed to increase deportations over time.
• This development occurs as the number of migrants crossing the English Channel has exceeded 30,000 for the year, the earliest this figure has been reached since data collection began in 2018.

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First ‘one in, one out’ deportation flight takes off without migrants in fresh blow for Starmer