- UK conducts largest deportation flight, removing 44 Nigerians and Ghanaians.
- Part of broader immigration crackdown, with 3,600+ deportations since July.
- Home Office defends action, citing immigration rule enforcement.
- Criticism from Migrants’ Rights Network over speed, secrecy, and lack of legal support.
- Deportees include long-term asylum seekers and trafficking victims.
- Rare deportation flight to Nigeria and Ghana, exceeding previous numbers.
The UK has just carried out its largest deportation flight ever, sending 44 Nigerians and Ghanaians back to their home countries on Friday. This is part of a broader crackdown on immigration, with over 3,600 people deported since the Labour government took power in July .
The Home Office confirmed this action, stating that it’s committed to enforcing immigration rules and ensuring people without legal rights to remain in the UK are returned. However, this move has been met with criticism from organizations like the Migrants’ Rights Network, which condemns the speed, secrecy, and lack of legal support for those being deported .
Some of the individuals deported had been seeking asylum in the UK for years, with one man claiming he had been in the country for 15 years with no criminal record, yet his claim was still rejected . Another deportee revealed he had been a victim of trafficking and had torture scars, but his asylum claim was also denied .
This deportation flight is particularly notable, as flights to Nigeria and Ghana have been relatively rare, with only four recorded since 2020, and previous flights carrying significantly fewer individuals . The UK government’s actions have sparked concerns about the treatment of asylum seekers and the impact on their lives.
