Migrants in Calais make a mockery over the first deportation of a man back to France, claiming the scheme won’t stop them from crossing. On Thursday, Sir Keir Starmer saw his first victory for his ‘one in, one out’ deal, after two days of unsuccessful attempts. Despite Labour’s bid to stop the boats, migrants waiting to board a dinghy to the UK have vowed to never stop trying.
British charities working in Calais have been offering legal advice to migrants looking to cross, with many saying they are confident they could avoid deportation when reaching UK shores. “They say the same things again and again, but it doesn’t change anything,” Ahmed Mustapha, 30, said of the Home Secretary’s bid to speed up deportations. “I don’t care what she says. They can’t deport me.”
He told the Telegraph: “I will talk to a lawyer and try to cross again and again. I control myself.”
New Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has claimed migrants are “making a mockery” of Britain’s laws by making last-minute claims to avoid being sent back.
She has now blocked migrants from challenging the government’s decisions about their claims.
A volunteer for a migrant charity, Christophe Gosselin, 68, told the newspaper that Labour’s deportation scheme would not end the crossings.
“The problem is the English dream,” he said. “For migrants, England is the dream. They assume it’s no problem to work there and you get the good life.”
On Thursday, a failed asylum seeker, from India, is believed to have flown to Paris on an Air France service from Heathrow under the prime minister’s deal with Emmanuel Macron.
Ms Mahmood said on Wednesday that the last minute legal challenges were “intolerable” after migrants successfully managed to avoid being deported.
A series of human rights claims meant Air France flights took off from Heathrow to Paris for three consecutive days without any small boat arrivals.
The Home Secretary said: “This is an important first step to securing our borders. It sends a message to people crossing in small boats: if you enter the UK illegally, we will seek to remove you.
“I will continue to challenge any last-minute, vexatious attempts to frustrate a removal in the courts.
“The UK will always play its part in helping those genuinely fleeing persecution, but this must be done through safe, legal, and managed routes – not dangerous crossings.”
