A planned deportation under the Labour government's "one in, one out" arrangement with France was abandoned on 15 September after lawyers for the migrant lodged a last-minute legal challenge, the Daily Mail reported.
The removal had been due to take place on a scheduled Air France service from a UK airport to Paris but the passenger did not board after the legal challenge was submitted shortly before departure, the report said. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs on Monday that the first returns would take place "as soon as possible" and that she was in contact with her French counterparts to progress the scheme.
The arrangement, struck with French president Emmanuel Macron in July and brought into effect on 7 August, envisages an exchange of migrants between the two countries on a "one-for-one" basis: people who entered the UK illegally across the Channel may be returned to France while others in France may be flown to the UK and given short-term visas while their claims are assessed. Officials have said the UK and French governments will bear the costs of transfers on each side.
Since the deal came into force, the Daily Mail reported that 5,435 people have reached the UK in small boats. The newspaper also reported that 31,026 migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year, an increase of 38% compared with the same period last year. About 100 people are understood to have been detained as potential candidates for removal under the scheme.
Plans to use large charter flights have been scaled back, with officials instead placing small numbers, and sometimes single individuals, on scheduled services accompanied by Home Office escort officers. The Home Office has said security checks will be "rigorous", while also acknowledging that French authorities will not supply personal details, including criminal-record information, on people being transferred to the UK.
Campaign groups in both Britain and France targeted Air France, urging the carrier not to participate in deportations. The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) and the French charity Auberge des Migrants encouraged complaints to the airline; the JCWI published suggested wording for members of the public to use when contacting Air France.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp had warned the government to expect a "slew of last-minute legal challenges" to attempts to carry out removals. The Home Office declined to provide further details of the returns scheme when asked.
Mahmood told MPs that international cooperation was "the key" to securing borders and assisting partners, and said the government was working to get flights running as soon as legal and operational issues allowed. Officials are preparing to proceed with removals when legal barriers are resolved.