Duncan Lewis solicitor quoted in the Guardian on 'one in, one out' asylum ruling (14 July 2026)

Duncan Lewis has been featured in the Guardian following a High Court ruling that found the Home Secretary's reduction of protections for potential trafficking victims under the UK-France "one in, one out" asylum returns deal was unlawful.

The "one in, one out" scheme, which has been running since last August, involves an asylum seeker who has arrived in the UK by small boat being forcibly returned to France, in exchange for another asylum seeker in France who has not attempted a Channel crossing being permitted to come to the UK. More than 1,000 people are understood to have been removed to France under the arrangement so far, with many hundreds more currently in detention awaiting return.

The case was brought by five small-boat asylum seekers who had been selected for return to France under the scheme, four from Eritrea and one from Sudan. Two of the claimants were represented by Duncan Lewis solicitor Elizabeth Cole. All five had described experiences of trafficking, detention, and serious mistreatment prior to reaching the UK.

At issue was a change made to Home Office guidance that removed the right for individuals to seek reconsideration where they had received an initial negative decision on whether they were a potential trafficking victim. The claimants argued that this change was introduced specifically to speed up removals to France, and that it left vulnerable people without an effective safeguard.

Mr Justice Sheldon agreed, finding that the decision-making process behind the guidance change could not be regarded as robust or effective, and that the removal of the right to reconsideration had made a material difference in two of the five cases before the court. Permission was granted for all five claimants to proceed with their wider legal challenges.

The judgment also examined the adequacy of protections available to trafficking victims in France, with evidence presented that individuals who were not French nationals, or who had not been trafficked within France, do not benefit from the same level of protection there as they would in the UK.'

Commenting on the outcome, Elizabeth Cole said the ruling would have significant consequences given the number of people already affected, and called on the Home Secretary to bring her client, along with others who may have been unlawfully removed, back to the UK.

The Home Office has confirmed it intends to appeal the decision, while maintaining that reforms are needed to prevent late trafficking claims being used to delay removals.

Read the Guardian article here.

About Elizabeth Cole

Elizabeth Cole is a Solicitor in the Public Law team at Duncan Lewis, working under Director Toufique Hossain, with particular expertise in Article 3 investigation work, strategic litigation on age disputes and accommodation, and trafficking-related challenges

About Duncan Lewis

Duncan Lewis' Public Law team is ranked top tier in both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 UK, and acts for privately and publicly funded (legal aid) clients across immigration, asylum, human rights and deportation cases, with particular expertise in immigration and civil liberties judicial review claims. The team regularly challenges delays in Home Office decision-making and unlawful immigration detention, pursuing high-value damages claims, and has significant experience contesting immigration removal decisions, including third country removal cases.