Deportations reach five-year high despite concerns of rights groups
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Campaigners fear lives could be put at risk as government sets record number of deportations. The government has announced that it has deported almost 13,500 people since coming to power, something ministers say proves their tough approach towards migrants but which human rights campaigners have warned could put lives at risk.
The government says it is on track to deliver the highest number of returns for five years and includes the four biggest return flights ever. The Observer revealed earlier this month that at least three of these four flights were returns to Brazil, and it is thought the fourth is also likely to be going there.
Between 5 July and 7 December 2024, a total of 13,460 returns were recorded, most of them voluntary. But the number of enforced returns rose by 25% compared with the same period in 2023. The Home Office organised deportation flights to at least seven countries, including Pakistan, Nigeria and Albania. Sources in the department confirmed that 37 people were removed on the Pakistan flight. One of those forcibly removed was a refused asylum seeker whose wife was a dependant on his asylum claim.
The Home Office removed him but left his wife in the UK. Human rights organisations warned that some of those deported would have been forcibly separated from family members. Emma Ginn, director of the charity Medical Justice, which works to support the health of immigration detainees facing removal from the UK, said: “The new data being celebrated by the government includes real people who have been unable to access legal representation, nor the medical and expert evidence needed to properly present their case, meaning some may face real risk on forced return to their country.
