Home secretary vows to ‘fight vexatious modern slavery claims’ to stop deportation flights to France
Mahmood says migrants fighting deportation ‘make mockery of our laws’
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has vowed to fight "vexatious, last-minute" legal claims from asylum seekers challenging their removal under the UK-France deal.
- Her pledge follows a High Court injunction that temporarily blocked the removal of a 25-year-old Eritrean man, who claimed to be a victim of modern slavery, to France.
- Ms Mahmood said that migrants making modern slavery claims on the eve of their removal "make a mockery of our laws and this country’s generosity".
- The "one in, one out" returns deal with France is under pressure after scheduled flights earlier in the week departed without any migrants on board.
- Critics, including some Labour MPs and charities, have condemned the scheme as unworkable and cruel, drawing comparisons to the Rwanda plan and highlighting the fear it causes among asylum seekers.