Conservative politicians have warned that the first deportation flights under the United Kingdom's one‑in, one‑out returns deal with France could be blocked by a "slew of last‑minute legal challenges" as ministers prepare to begin removals this week.
The returns arrangement, announced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron in July, entered into force on Aug. 7. Since then more than 5,400 small‑boat migrants have arrived in the UK, and officials have said the initial deportation flights are due to take place imminently.
Tory home affairs spokesman Chris Philp, a former immigration minister, said lawyers representing migrants would seek injunctions and other legal routes to prevent removals, and argued the government had not removed legal avenues such as the Human Rights Act or claims of modern slavery that he said could be used to delay or halt deportations. Philp said, "The Government is too naive to realise this. They have not scrapped the Human Rights Act in immigration matters or, indeed, the use of modern slavery claims as a pretext to stay in Britain, so ministers will find it very hard to remove people in practice. What we should do is deport every single illegal immigrant immediately on arrival." The Conservatives did not provide evidence to substantiate how many legal actions they expected.
Government sources said the Home Office expects the first returns to take place this week. A Home Office spokesperson said: "We expect the first returns to take place imminently." When the bilateral deal was unveiled in July, officials indicated it could initially see about 50 people returned to France each week. At that rate, fewer than 2,000 people would be removed before the agreement's scheduled expiry on June 11 next year. By contrast, 31,026 small‑boat arrivals have been recorded so far this year, an increase of 38% on the same period last year.
Observers and lawyers working in immigration law said legal challenges are a foreseeable part of implementing return policies and that migrants can pursue several routes to contest removal, including human rights claims and modern slavery referrals. Those avenues have in the past prevented flights from departing: in June 2022 a planned removal flight under the previous government's Rwanda scheme was grounded after an injunction issued by the European Court of Human Rights.
Separately, documents released under freedom of information rules show the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency told Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander that a "substantial" increase in immigration from non‑EU countries was a factor in the backlog of driving tests. Meeting minutes obtained by the RAC Foundation and seen by media outlets said officials wanted to make the scale of demand from non‑EU nationals clear as the department examined ways to reduce waiting times. Nationals from non‑EU countries who hold a full foreign driving licence can use it in Britain for 12 months, after which they must pass a British test. The documents show 644,398 future driving tests had been booked at the end of August.
Ministers have framed the France agreement as part of a broader effort to deter dangerous Channel crossings and speed up returns, while critics have highlighted logistical and legal obstacles to large‑scale removals. Implementation of bilateral return deals frequently involves close coordination between immigration authorities, legal teams and courts, and the outcome of any early legal challenges is likely to shape how quickly and how many people are removed under the arrangement.