Two return from France as asylum seekers still being sent under scheme weeks after it ended

Flights continue after scheme ends

The Home Office is still sending asylum seekers to France, according to the Guardian. The scheme ended on 1 October, but officials are understood to be detaining dozens of people.

A plane was chartered on Wednesday for people thought to have reached the UK by small boat before the scheme ended. Another flight is planned for 17 November.

Detention and reported harm

Emma Ginn, director of Medical Justice, said asylum seekers remain in detention centres awaiting forced removal. She said the detention and prospect of return were causing severe harm to vulnerable people.

Ginn said some people had reported violence and abuse by smugglers in France. A Syrian man previously sent there said he was detained again after returning to the UK, while officials sought a safe third country for his deportation. He said he was later released and his asylum claim is now being considered in the UK.

Returns and scheme costs

The Guardian interviewed two asylum seekers sent to France under the scheme who came back to the UK after 1 October. Both are having their claims processed in Britain.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told a parliamentary home affairs committee that removals to France had cost at least £78m. Some people were sent back to France more than once, adding further costs.

Crossings and conditions in Dunkirk

Home Office figures recorded no crossings for three weeks, followed by 263 people arriving in three boats on Thursday and 671 in nine boats on Friday. An asylum seeker in the Dunkirk camp known as the “Jungle” said at least five or six people sent under the scheme were waiting there to cross back to the UK. The person said the camp was crowded, with no room for some people to lie down and sleep, and described the crossing as dangerous.