A UK High Court judge has ruled that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood acted unlawfully when she changed protections available to potential trafficking victims in order to speed up a controversial asylum returns agreement with France.
The legal challenge was brought by five asylum seekers who arrived in the UK by small boats and were selected for removal to France under the “one in, one out” asylum arrangement. The group included four Eritrean nationals and one person from Sudan.
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The court case focused on changes made to Home Office guidance that removed the right for some asylum seekers to request a review of negative decisions on trafficking protections. The policy was introduced to help accelerate returns under the agreement, which allows the UK to send some small boat arrivals back to France in exchange for accepting other asylum seekers from France who have not crossed the English Channel.
In a judgment published on Friday, Mr Justice Sheldon ruled that Mahmood’s decision to amend the trafficking guidance was unlawful.
However, the judge found that some individual decisions made by the Home Secretary regarding the five asylum seekers were lawful. The court also determined that the guidance change affected the cases of two of the claimants but did not significantly impact the other two.
All five asylum seekers have been granted permission to continue their legal challenges.
The ruling could have wider consequences for thousands of people who have crossed the Channel in small boats, many of whom may have experienced trafficking or exploitation during their journeys, particularly those who travelled through countries such as Libya.
Under the UK-France agreement, individuals who arrive in Britain illegally by small boat can be returned to France, while the UK accepts another asylum seeker from France through a legal route.
Since the scheme began last August, more than 1,000 people are believed to have been returned to France, while hundreds more remain in UK detention facilities awaiting possible removal.
Mahmood had argued that France’s international commitments to protect trafficking victims meant that individuals returned under the scheme would still receive adequate support. However, evidence presented during the case suggested that some trafficking victims who are not French citizens or who were not exploited in France may not receive the same level of protection there as they would in the UK.
In Britain, all recognised trafficking victims are entitled to the same legal safeguards and support services.
The ruling has raised questions over the future implementation of the asylum returns agreement and whether the government will need to revise its approach to protecting vulnerable migrants while managing efforts to reduce irregular Channel crossings.
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