Deportations under the Government’s “one in, one out” deal with France will take place “as soon as possible”, a minister has said, after a planned flight on Monday was reportedly cancelled.
But justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said she would not give a “running commentary” on deportations, saying this would give people-smuggling gangs “exactly what they want”.
The Times and Telegraph reported that a small group of migrants were removed from an Air France flight due to travel from Heathrow to Paris after a legal challenge.
The flight went ahead without any migrants on board, according to The Times, and is one of several throughout the week on which the Home Office has booked seats for migrants.
Asked about the reports on Tuesday, Ms Davies-Jones told Times Radio: “These deportations will be happening as soon as possible.”
But she declined to say when, or whether asylum seekers due to arrive from France as part of the scheme would still fly to the UK later this week.
Asked why she would not comment, she said: “If I was to break down with you exactly a time-by-time, day-by-day movement on our returns policy, then that would be giving these abhorrent people-smugglers exactly what they want.
“This would be allowing them to know what the Government is doing when, and they would be able to respond to that. We are not going to be doing them any favours.”
A Government source said the first deportation flights under the deal with France are expected to take place this week.
The pilot scheme, agreed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron in July, will see the UK send back to France asylum seekers who have crossed the Channel, in exchange for those who apply and are approved to come to Britain.
France has reportedly said they will only accept a small initial contingent of deportations, while the UK has said it hopes to increase numbers over the course of the scheme in an effort to stop small boat crossings in the Channel.
Some 31,026 people have made the journey so far this year, putting 2025 on course to be a record year for crossings.
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Labour failed to deport a single illegal immigrant yesterday as they had promised – the flight took off without a single illegal immigrant on board.
“Only yesterday, I told the new Home Secretary they need to completely repeal the Human Rights Act for immigration matters, but she refused, and this is the predictable result.
“This Labour Government is too weak to control our borders. Their 16 in, one out deal would see 94% of illegal immigrants crossing the Channel allowed to stay, and Labour are so weak and incompetent they can’t even make that happen.”
