Asylum seekers launch legal challenge against their removal from UK

Group due to be flown out this week as Home Office targets those who arrived in small boats

A group of asylum seekers due to be flown out of the UK this week in a Home Office operation targeting people who arrived on small boats have launched a mass legal challenge to their removal, the Guardian has learned.

Up to 20 people are due to be removed on the charter flight on Wednesday, the first since the coronavirus lockdown to specifically target asylum seekers who have crossed the Channel from mainland Europe by small boats or other clandestine means.