THE government is “ramping up” its detention and deportation “machine” once again as it prepares to remove 20 asylum-seekers on Wednesday, campaigners have warned. 

The planned charter flight to France and Germany will be the first to deport asylum-seekers since the beginning of the lockdown. 

Campaigners raised concerns that the flight could risk spreading Covid-19 between countries. 

The 20 asylum-seekers are believed to have reached Britain in small boats across the Channel. 

Law firm Duncan Lewis, which is representing many of the deportees in a legal bid to halt the flight, said that the majority of people making the crossings have “strong claims for asylum.” 

Lily Parrott, a lawyer at the firm, said: “Many are victims of torture, sexual assault or trafficking and many suffer from mental health issues. In these cases, getting specialist legal advice to help navigate the system may be the last protection a person has.”

In recent days, the government has ramped up its hard-line response to refugees entering Britain by crossing the Channel. 

Today, Boris Johnson hinted that new laws could be passed to make it easier to deport asylum -seekers who arrive in small boats. 

The Prime Minister also claimed taht “activist” lawyers “abuse” current laws to keep “people who have no right to be here” in the country. 

Responding to Mr Johnson’s comments, Mr Parrott said: “Whether the government likes it or not, under British and international law people are allowed to migrate for the purpose of seeking asylum even if it means they have to use ‘irregular’ routes. 

“The government’s suggestion that they cannot is just wrong and an abuse of power.”

Ms Parrott added: “At Duncan Lewis, we’re challenging these charter flights to ensure that ministers look properly at these cases — and at the UK’s legal obligations — before ploughing ahead with removals. 

“The government has already deferred the removal of some of our clients, which shows that, despite the rhetoric, the government knows it’s in the wrong.”

According to migrant rights groups, the Home Office has also restarted detaining people who are living freely in the community, a practice which had been suspended during the lockdown. 

Bail for Immigration Detainees (BiD) said it had heard of five people being detained in recent weeks. During lockdown, the only new people entering the detention system were those who had finished serving a jail sentence and were then being held under immigration powers. 

BID director Celia Clarke said she was “alarmed” to hear of people being detained once again and facing deportation. 

“Clearly, the Home Office’s detention and deportation machine is ramping up again,” she said.

“The suffering inflicted on individuals through this violent process is bad enough in healthy times, but the UK is still suffering high infection rates and deaths.

“It is ironic that the Home Office depicts ‘activist’ lawyers ‘abusing’ the law, when it is the Home Office itself that has had to pay £8.2 million in the last year in compensation for unlawful detention. 

“Instead of thinking up ways to deny people access to justice, the government should instead put its own house in order and stop breaking the law.”