HUMAN TRAFFICKING WATCH · DISPATCH
Dover Removals Defy Trafficking Ruling
Home Office presses weekly France flights as court orders reconsideration of trafficking claims.
Despite a High Court ruling, the Home Office planned to keep sending asylum seekers to France on weekly charters, including a flight due Thursday, without revisiting many trafficking claims—an approach it intends to defend on appeal.
A weekly charter plane, arranged by the Home Office to remove dozens of recent small‑boat arrivals to France, was due to fly on Thursday, a continuation of enforced returns that set Dover’s Channel crossings against a hard clock and a harder legal backdrop; last week, a High Court judge ruled it unlawful to persist with a policy that sidelines reconsideration of trafficking claims from those slated for expulsion, yet officials signaled they would press on while mounting an appeal of the judgment (Taylor & Taylor, n.d.; Taylor, n.d.).
The disputed policy pared back protections for potential trafficking victims in the removal cohort because those safeguards—chiefly the opportunity to revisit negative trafficking decisions—could add thirty days or more to a timetable ministers were determined to keep; the court’s ruling cut the other way, stating it is unlawful not to revisit initial rejections for people earmarked for transfer to France under the government’s current scheme (Taylor & Taylor, n.d.; Taylor, n.d.).
Evidence placed before the court underscored the stakes: in 2025, almost four out of five individuals who first received negative trafficking decisions—1,525 people—saw those outcomes reversed on reconsideration, a rate suggesting that cursory screening risks sending recognized victims out of the United Kingdom; internal awareness pre‑dated the policy’s roll‑out, with officials acknowledging that many sent to France could be treated only as “unofficial” victims because they were neither French nor trafficked there (Taylor & Taylor, n.d.; Taylor, n.d.).
People detained for removal told reporters they did not feel heard when asserting they had been trafficked, a complaint that tracks with case‑file reversals and clinical flags; Emma Ginn, director of Medical Justice, said many clients under the “one in, one out” arrangement are potential survivors, urging that initial negatives be reopened and independent medical evidence weighed properly before any cross‑Channel flight proceeds (Taylor & Taylor, n.d.; Taylor, n.d.).
A Home Office spokesperson countered that last‑minute modern slavery claims must not be used to frustrate removals, confirmed the home secretary would appeal the judgment, and said legislative reforms are under way to curb dubious late claims while strengthening protections where merited; if you or someone you know may be a victim of trafficking, contact the UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline at 08000 121 700 for confidential support (Taylor & Taylor, n.d.; Taylor, n.d.).
Locations: Dover, Asia and the Pacific, France, United Kingdom
Tags: policy, international, transport, federal