How the UK’s “one in one out” scheme knowingly harms and forcibly removes torture and trafficking survivors to France
Medical Justice press release 21 January 2026 for immediate release
Medical Justice today publishes “Politics over people? How the UK’s “one in one out” knowingly harms and forcibly removes torture and trafficking survivors to France”, the first comprehensive analysis of the backgrounds, experiences and mistreatment of 33 clients detained in immigration removal centres (IRCs) under the ‘one-in one-out’ UK-France Treaty since August 2025. These clients are men, women and age-disputed young people whose nationalities include Eritrean, Iranian, Palestinian and Sudanese.
Independent clinicians from Medical Justice who assessed 20 clients in detention found that all 20 had clinical evidence of a history of torture, ill-treatment and/or trafficking, and all 20 had serious mental health conditions. Our clinicians document the clinical consequences of the use of force and segregation to facilitate removals.
A Medical Justice spokesperson said:
“Medical Justice has been documenting the harm experienced by people held in immigration detention for two decades – what sets the mistreatment of clients detained under this scheme apart is the combination of an especially high proportion of trafficking and torture survivors, alarming levels of suicidality, and the fact that almost all of them experienced dysfunction of the clinical safeguarding system, exposing them to the severe harm detention in the UK is known to cause.
The number of people released by the Home Office in response to safeguarding reports from healthcare units inside IRCs is so low that it risks rendering the whole process of clinical safeguards meaningless.
We fear the government wants to remove these people come what may.
The scheme should be scrapped and all people be allowed to have their asylum claims processed in the UK.”
Medical Justice found:
- Of the 20 clients our clinicians assessed, only two had an appointment with a GP at the IRC within 24 hours of arrival there as they should have done.
- Only three had a report by the IRC GP identifying those who are likely to be injuriously affected by detention as they should have done. Those who did not have one of these reports included people whose health had already deteriorated in detention, one of whom had been hospitalised.
- 12 out of the 20 people our clinicians assessed had suicidal thoughts. One person attempted to take their own life and two self-harmed in detention. Five were identified as being at risk of self-harm and/or suicide by the IRC, with one put on suicide watch (“constant supervision”), yet only one had a safeguarding report as they should have done from the IRC to flag suspected suicidal intentions to the Home Office who should review if detention is to be continued.
- We had access to 14 Home Office responses to safeguarding reports – in only one case was the person released.
- Clients were detained for between one month and over three and a half months. 16 of the 33 clients were released in the UK, with several subsequently re-detained for removal. Some have been forcibly removed to France.
- Many clients have not been able to access adequate and timely legal advice.
Based on expert medical evidence, the report details the harm and distress caused and compounded by detention, as well as by the accelerated process of forced removal and the anticipation of removal. Many clients described having experienced severe violence and highly traumatic events in France – including witnessing the violent death of another person at the hands of traffickers, and being threatened by traffickers that they would be killed if they returned to France. Some clients had suicidal thoughts when thinking about being returned to France and expressed intent to die by suicide if they were to be removed.
Clients describe being arbitrarily selected after arriving by small boat to be in the scheme. Neither their claims for asylum nor their risks of harm from detention in UK IRCs were considered when they were ‘selected’ for detention – they were instead subjected to inherently harmful detention. At the time of publication, the Home Office had decided to remove six clients, including an age-disputed child, from the inadmissibility procedure and they are now able to process their asylum claim in the UK.
Successive governments have been continuously warned by their own monitoring bodies, by Medical Justice, and in a public inquiry, of the danger and harm of detention in the UK, yet is knowingly harming torture and trafficking survivors and age-disputed young people by subjecting them to this scheme and locking them up in detention.
Hamid* was detained under this Treaty and had clinical evidence of a history of torture. He describes the excessive force and violence he was subjected to during a removal attempt to France. Hamid told Medical Justice:
“The belt that was tied around my shoulders got stuck in my throat. I started screaming and saying I want to die, untie the belt from my neck, but they thought I just wanted to be let go. After a few minutes, I became dizzy, and my voice became weak and my strength was limited to just tears. They saw me struggling for air and honestly, my eyes were turning white and my breathing was difficult. I said in a low voice, I can’t breathe, and I thought to myself, Oh, my God.”
A Medical Justice clinician documented evidence of Hamid’s physical injuries and psychological harm. Hamid has since been removed.
This report comes shortly after a group of more than 80 people detained under the scheme at Harmondsworth IRC spoke out about the psychological distress, fear and harm they are suffering, and just days after reportedly passive protests by more than 100 asylum seekers at two IRCs. A video circulated of protesters being dispersed by officers using riot shields, PAVA spray and dogs.
*Not his real name
