Britain's border policy lies crippled once again by the courts. On 10 July 2026 London's High Court declared the Home Office's amended modern slavery guidance unlawful, a ruling that directly sabotages attempts to return failed asylum seekers and small-boat arrivals to France under a bilateral treaty.
The amendment, introduced in September 2025, had removed the right for those facing removal to France and certain other countries to demand reconsideration of a negative trafficking decision. Five claimants identified only as AYA, EXR, HRE, GIP and KAG brought the case. Each had been removed or stood on the brink of removal under the UK-France arrangement. Mr Justice Sheldon ruled the revised process failed the test of being robust and effective under section 49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
His central indictment was merciless in its logic. A decision-making process which was not robust and effective could not have been within Parliament’s contemplation. He added that arrangements which deprive the decision-maker of material evidence means that there are bound to be many cases where a victim of human trafficking will not be identified.
a decision-making process which was not robust and effective could not have been within Parliament’s contemplation
The statistics expose the scale of the problem the government had tried to address. In 2025, 79 percent of reconsidered negative trafficking decisions flipped to positive. Last-minute claims had become a well-worn route to frustrate lawful removal. Yet the court has now restored that avenue, prioritising the remote chance of decisive late evidence over the practical need for swift decisions within roughly five days.
This is the familiar pattern of judicial intervention in migration. Executive attempts to regain control are dismantled by expansive readings of statutory duties, even when those duties were never intended to paralyse returns. The UK-France 'one in, one out' scheme, which swaps small-boat arrivals returned to France for an equivalent number admitted from France who have not crossed illegally, has managed only modest results. As of early March 2026 just 377 people had been returned and 380 admitted. That trickle is now under fresh threat.
The Home Office response struck the right note of realism. A spokesperson said last-minute modern slavery claims must not be used to frustrate the removal of illegal migrants. We are reforming our laws to stop dubious last-minute claims, while strengthening protections for those who need them.
