Aaaand... they never went back.
Quote:No migrant return flights to France on TuesdayBBC:
'No migrant return flights will take place on Tuesday under the new pilot scheme agreed between
the UK and France, the BBC has learned. The first returns of migrants who reached the UK on small
boats via the English Channel from France were expected to begin from as early as Tuesday.
Downing Street has insisted that the removals will begin "imminently" - although initial plans for a flight
to Paris today were put back. On Tuesday, a 25-year-old Eritrean man who arrived on a small boat in
August launched a last-minute legal claim at the High Court to stop his removal on a 9am flight to
France on Wednesday.
The 'one in, one out' scheme was set up as part of a deal announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer
and French President Emmanuel Macron in July this year. Dozens of migrants have been detained since.
On Tuesday, No 10 said the government was "confident in the legal basis for this pilot" and is "prepared
to respond to any legal scrutiny that occurs".
Over the last fortnight, some migrants being held in immigration removal centres, having crossed the
Channel in dinghies, were told they could be returned to France as early as Tuesday. Some individuals
received letters that said they would be put on a scheduled Air France flight departing from Heathrow
Airport for Paris at 9am this morning.
However, a number of sources told the BBC that some of the potential passengers had been told their
departure would be deferred as further representations about their cases were made. It is not unusual
for immigration removals to be delayed if officials are warned by lawyers that the individual has not
had a full or fair opportunity to present their case.
On Tuesday, the first legal challenge against the 'one in one out' agreement was launched in the High
Court in London, where lawyers argued against the removal of their unnamed Eritrean client. Sonali Naik
KC said a decision was pending under the national referral mechanism decision - which identifies and
assesses victims of slavery and human trafficking.
Under the new treaty, France agreed to take back adults or accompanied children who make a journey to
the UK by small boat, once any asylum claim is withdrawn or declared inadmissible. For each person sent
back to France, the UK will accept someone with a case for protection as a refugee, who has not tried to
cross the English Channel and can pass security and eligibility criteria.
The BBC understands that migrants living in the Calais region who have applied to the scheme have been
rejected - but asylum seekers in the Paris region have been accepted...' (More In Link)
It's only an island if you look at it from the water.