Asylum seeker has deportation ticket cancelled after attempting suicide

Eritrean man was due to be forcibly removed to France under ‘one in, one out’ scheme An Eritrean asylum seeker who was due to be forcibly removed to France today under the “one in, one out” scheme has had his ticket cancelled after making a serious attempt on his life, the Guardian understands. Other detainees said they believed he had made an attempt on his life because he feared he would be in danger in France due to his specific circumstances had he been forcibly returned there. He was discovered yesterday by his cellmate, who raised the alarm. He is now on round-the-clock suicide watch in detention. Under the terms of a treaty agreed last August between the UK and France, one asylum seeker who arrives in the UK on a small boat from France is returned in exchange for a person who has not tried to cross the Channel. According to the Home Office, 605 people had been returned to France as of 28 April, and 581 had been brought to the UK. On 9 May, 196 people crossed the Channel in three boats. Incidents of self-harm are not uncommon among detainees, and asylum seekers often have a history of trauma. With previous self-harm or suicide attempts among those due to be removed under “one