A charter flight due to take asylum seekers to Madrid has been grounded by a judge after lawyers raised concerns that passengers could end up destitute in Spain. They said the three men should not be flown to Madrid until more investigations had been carried out into Spanish immigrant reception facilities. Lawyers representing Home Secretary Priti Patel had argued that the flight should be allowed to leave and said Spanish authorities could be trusted to comply with their obligations to asylum seekers. Lawyers representing the three men said there had been criticism of Spanish reception facilities, with reports of asylum seekers being forced to sleep rough because the border post at Madrid Airport had been “overwhelmed by demand”. He said the charter flight should not leave until that issue had been fully investigated at a trial.

Source: The North Africa Journal September 16, 2020 18:00 UTC