UK High Court blocks deportation of Eritrean asylum seeker
A London High Court has temporarily blocked the deportation of a 25-year-old Eritrean asylum seeker to France under the UK-France “one-in, one-out” returns scheme. The man, who arrived in Britain by small boat in August 2025, won an interim injunction from Judge Clive Sheldon.
The court ruled there is a “serious issue to be tried” concerning the man’s claim that he is a victim of human trafficking and that sending him to France could put him at risk of destitution. The injunction prevents his removal, which had been scheduled under the bilateral deal announced in July, while his case and those claims are fully evaluated.
The returns scheme was set up to allow the UK to send undocumented migrants who cross the Channel back to France, in exchange for admitting asylum seekers with family ties in the UK from France. This legal setback is seen as an early challenge for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose government has made reducing small-boat migration a central policy aim.
Human rights groups welcomed the decision, arguing it underscores the need for careful assessment of asylum seekers’ vulnerabilities under the deal. The court’s ruling provides the man with 14 days to provide additional evidence to support his trafficking claim.
