The Home Office is pressing ahead with deportation flights for Haitian and Syrian migrants, despite a last-ditch legal challenge filed this morning by British lawyers. Sources confirm that at least 47 individuals were taken from detention centres in London and Kent before dawn, bound for a chartered aircraft at Stansted. The removal order, signed late yesterday, relies on a contentious Supreme Court ruling that critics say sidesteps international refugee protections.
Documents obtained by this newsroom show the Home Office invoked a little-used clause in the 2023 Nationality and Borders Act, arguing that both Haiti and Syria are now ‘safe countries of origin’. This defies warnings from the UNHCR, which has labelled Haiti a ‘catastrophic humanitarian zone’ and parts of Syria as active conflict areas. The legal challenge, filed by Duncan Lewis & Co on behalf of seven families, argues the government has misapplied the law and failed to conduct individual risk assessments.
The flight is scheduled to depart at 19:00 GMT. Protesters have gathered outside the Home Office, but police have erected barriers. Inside, sources say the mood is grim: officials are bracing for potential last-minute injunctions, though the court has not yet issued a stay.
This is not the first time the government has pushed the boundaries of immigration law. Earlier this year, leaked emails revealed that Home Office lawyers had privately expressed concerns about the legality of fast-track removals to so-called safe zones. Those concerns were dismissed by ministers. Now, with the Supreme Court having previously ruled that the policy was ‘lawful in principle’, the government is emboldened.
But the challenge today hinges on a technical point: whether the designation of Haiti and Syria as safe can stand given the latest evidence. A senior barrister involved in the case told me: “They are relying on a blanket assumption. That is not how refugee law works. Each person has a story, and each story must be heard.”
The Home Office declined to comment on operational details, but a spokesperson said: “We are committed to enforcing immigration controls fairly and firmly. Those with no legal right to remain will be removed.”
For the migrants on this flight, time is running out. One Haitian man, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “They say I must go back, but I have nothing there. No home. No family. I will be killed.” His account matches those of others who fled gang violence and political upheaval. Syrian families similarly describe a country still torn by war, where returning to Assad’s forces could mean detention or worse.
The Supreme Court ruling that underpins this operation is now being scrutinised by international legal bodies. The Council of Europe has expressed ‘serious concerns’. Yet the government moves forward, as it has before, dragging migrants from their beds and onto planes.
We will update this story as the legal proceedings unfold. For now, the clock ticks towards 19:00, and British lawyers fight to stop a deportation they call unlawful.
