Mr Justice Sheldon ordered the Home Office to bring an asylum seeker from Sudan back to the UK after his removal to France under the one in one out policy was found unlawful. The man had been forcibly returned to France on 27 November 2025, even though reasonable grounds had been identified that he was a victim of trafficking.
The ruling goes beyond one man’s case. The High Court also quashed a Home Office policy change that had sought to deny asylum seekers a fresh look at trafficking claims after an initial rejection, and Mr Justice Sheldon said: “I have quashed it so that it is as if it never happened.”
High Court ruling on France removal
The man was one of five people who challenged the Home Office policy change. The High Court ruling means he must now be brought back to the UK, and it gives asylum seekers returned to France a right to have trafficking cases that were initially rejected reconsidered.
The case lands in the middle of a deterrence scheme that is supposed to remove some people who cross the Channel in small boats in exchange for bringing a similar number from northern France legally to the UK. The same scheme has been presented as a way to reduce arrivals, with more than 40% fewer crossings than at this time last year, while more than 1,000 people arrived in the last week and four people died trying to make the journey.
Emily Soothill and Elizabeth Cole
Emily Soothill, a lawyer at Deighton Pierce Glynn, said: “Our client is a vulnerable victim of trafficking and torture who has suffered significantly as a result of the Home Office’s unlawful decision-making. We are delighted that the court has rightly recognised that his removal to France was unlawful and that he must therefore be brought back to the UK.” She added: “This is a highly significant decision; for our client, for other victims of trafficking who may have been unlawfully removed to France and for ensuring that the rule of law is upheld.”
Elizabeth Cole, a solicitor at Duncan Lewis, said: “The court’s decision calls into question the lawfulness of previous removals under the UK-France treaty where a negative reasonable grounds decision was made or reconsideration was denied,” She added: “We hope that this will allow a broader cohort of cases who have been removed to France unlawfully under the treaty to obtain justice and potentially return to the UK.”
Appeal and reconsideration
The High Court granted the Home Office and the asylum seekers permission to appeal on various points in the judgment. A second asylum seeker sent to France will have his trafficking case reconsidered in France and may be brought back to the UK depending on the outcome.
For people already removed to France under the one in one out scheme, the practical question is whether their trafficking claims were rejected or whether reconsideration was denied. If either happened, the ruling opens the door to challenge previous removals and seek a fresh decision on whether return to the UK is required.
