More deportation flights planned for Labour’s controversial ‘one-in, one-out’ scheme took off without a single migrant on board today, marking the third consecutive failure in what critics are calling a complete collapse of the Government’s flagship immigration policy.
A scheduled Air France flight from London Heathrow this morning departed with empty seats throughout economy and business class, despite being fully booked by the Home Office for deportations. Later, the airline’s 3.20pm departure also took off with no migrants or escorts aboard, as legal challenges and human rights claims continue to derail Sir Keir Starmer’s much-vaunted deal with France.
The humiliating setback comes just weeks after the Prime Minister claimed his agreement with French president Emmanuel Macron would see migrants “returned to France in short order.” Instead, more than 5,400 small boat migrants have reached Britain since the scheme came into force on 7 August, whilst not a single person has been deported.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp declared the scheme “clearly dead” after predicting earlier this week it would face a “slew of legal challenges.” Speaking to reporters, he said: “Not a single migrant has been removed, yet thousands more continue to arrive. This plan is clearly dead. Vexatious human rights and modern slavery claims have ended it before it even started.
High Court Blocks Eritrean Migrant’s Removal
The latest failure follows yesterday’s High Court ruling that temporarily blocked the deportation of an Eritrean migrant who claimed to be a victim of “modern slavery” and would face “destitution” if sent back to France. The man, granted anonymity by the court, arrived by small boat on 12 August after his mother paid £1,000 to smugglers.
Mr Justice Sheldon granted a 14-day interim injunction, stating: “It seems to me there is a serious issue to be tried with respect to the trafficking claim and whether or not the Secretary of State has carried out her investigatory duties in a lawful manner.”
The migrant’s barrister, Sonali Naik KC, a former chair of human rights group Liberty, argued there was “a serious issue to be tried” about whether her client would face destitution in France. Court papers revealed the man initially denied being exploited during his asylum screening but later lodged a modern slavery claim alleging exploitation in Libya.
The emergency hearing was told that the organisation examining modern slavery claims could not carry out its work if the applicant was abroad, proving crucial in persuading the court to block removal. The case highlights precisely the legal obstacles critics warned would doom the scheme from the start.
Empty Seats Mark Third Day of Failure
French pro-migrant charity Auberge des Migrants, which is campaigning against the scheme, had earlier this week identified specific Air France flights as Home Office removal services. The charity had urged supporters to flood the airline with phone calls, emails and social media messages, pleading “not to agree to collaborate with the interior ministry.”
Today’s failures follow similar scenes on Monday and Tuesday, when small groups of migrants were removed from flights at the last minute after legal challenges. The Home Office had reportedly booked seats on Air France passenger flights throughout the week, expecting to deport migrants detained at Harmondsworth Removal Centre near Heathrow.
Sources suggest as few as ten migrants per flight were planned, with at least one security escort per migrant. The migrants were to be taken to French government processing centres known as ZAPIs, ultra-secure “waiting zones” that can accommodate up to 160 people at a time.
Government Denies “Shambles” Claims
Despite the mounting failures, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman yesterday denied the system was “a shambles” or that ministers were powerless against the courts. “France is a safe country and we are expecting the first flight to take off imminently,” he told reporters, refusing to provide an “operational running commentary on the details of the scheme.”
The spokesman’s confidence appears increasingly misplaced. Since the deal came into force six weeks ago, 31,026 migrants have arrived by small boat this year – up 38 per cent on the same period last year and the earliest point in a calendar year the 30,000 mark has been passed since records began in 2018.
Former home secretary Yvette Cooper was moved sideways to the Foreign Office in this month’s reshuffle after failing to make progress on the crisis. Her replacement, Shabana Mahmood, faces immediate pressure to salvage something from the wreckage of Labour’s flagship immigration policy.
Legal Framework Proves Insurmountable
Labour was repeatedly warned that the European Convention on Human Rights, enshrined in domestic law by Labour’s own Human Rights Act, would prove a massive stumbling block. The Prime Minister has insisted Britain will never leave the human rights treaty, despite mounting evidence it makes deportations virtually impossible.
Before entering politics, barrister Sir Keir edited a legal manual on interpreting the new human rights laws shortly after they came into force, describing how they had “enormous potential” and represented a “new way of thinking” about the law. Critics suggest this ideological commitment has blinded him to practical realities.
Kate Grange KC, representing the Home Office in yesterday’s case, revealed that 78 people directly linked to attempted Channel crossings died in 2024, underlining the urgency of deterring dangerous journeys. Yet the legal framework appears to favour migrants’ claims over public safety concerns.
How the Deal Was Supposed to Work
Under the agreement announced in July, Britain would send back adults or accompanied children who crossed the Channel in small boats once their asylum claims were deemed inadmissible. France agreed to accept these returns within three months of arrival, with both countries committed to making transfers swiftly.
In exchange, the UK would accept an equal number of asylum seekers from France who could prove family connections to Britain. The pilot scheme initially aimed to return up to 50 migrants per week, potentially handling 2,600 annually according to French reports.
The Government had set aside space at Immigration Removal Centres and developed an operational strategy to identify and process groups of inadmissible migrants. Learning lessons from lengthy legal challenges to the Rwanda scheme, officials claimed they were prepared to “robustly defend” any court challenges.
Opposition Parties Condemn Failure
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called it “extraordinary” that Labour could not deport a single person. “This is exactly what I said would happen. Labour had a one in, one out deal with France. They failed to get anybody out, and we’re still taking in more people from France, so we’re still having net increase in immigration based on this deal.”
Reform UK’s Head of Policy Zia Yusuf was equally scathing: “This Labour government is wasting taxpayers’ money on a completely hollow and unworkable scheme. Without leaving the ECHR, disapplying international treaties like the 1951 Refugee Convention and a total legal reset, no government will be able to get deportations off the ground.”
The Conservatives maintain their Rwanda scheme, scrapped by Starmer as one of his first acts in office, would have removed 100 per cent of illegal arrivals and acted as a genuine deterrent. Chris Philp argued the scheme was “ready to go” in July 2024 after overcoming legal obstacles and parliamentary approval.
Record Crossings Continue Unabated
Whilst Government lawyers wrestle with human rights claims, the small boats keep coming. More than 50,000 migrants have crossed the Channel since Labour won the General Election, with 2025 on course to be the worst year in history for illegal crossings.
The delays and prospect of more legal challenges ending up in court represent a massive blow for a Government under intense pressure to tackle the crisis. The failure comes despite Britain paying France almost £500 million over three years to fund extra officers on the French coast, continuing an arrangement made by the previous Conservative government.
Any migrants who are eventually deported will be taken to French processing centres where they will have their own bedrooms, access to outdoor exercise space, a canteen, children’s room and television room. Once there, they can either be granted entry to France, sent back to their country of arrival or held on criminal charges.
Meanwhile, those hoping to reach Britain continue to arrive daily, confident that legal challenges and human rights claims will protect them from removal. As one Home Office source admitted privately: “The lawyers have won. The scheme is dead before it started.”
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Image Credit:
Air France Boeing 777-200ER landing at Toronto Pearson Int’l Airport (5 August 2020) — photo by Stevenhe1997, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
