Home secretary unlawfully cut trafficking protections to enable ‘one in one out’ asylum deal, judge rules
Summary
A judge ruled that the Home Secretary acted unlawfully by reducing protections for potential trafficking victims to support the UK’s "one in one out" asylum return deal with France. The change stopped people denied trafficking protection from asking for a reconsideration, affecting some asylum seekers who arrived by small boats.Key Facts
- The legal challenge was started by five asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan facing forced return to France under the scheme.
- The judge found the change in guidance by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was unlawful.
- The "one in one out" deal returns one asylum seeker from the UK to France in exchange for another from France to the UK.
- Since the scheme began, over 1,000 people have been sent back to France, many of whom have gone missing.
- The Home Secretary argued France protects trafficking victims because it signed relevant treaties.
- The court heard that trafficking victims who are not French or were trafficked outside France do not get equal protections there.
- In the UK, all trafficking victims have a right to equal protection.
- The judge allowed all five asylum seekers to continue their legal claims against their forced returns.
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