THE government resumed illegal deportations of asylum-seekers on chartered flights last night after the Home Office ordered people to be sent to countries they did not come from.

Migrant support service the Unity Centre sounded the alarm after private charter jet company Titan Airways was scheduled to deport dozens of migrants on a late-night flight from Stansted airport.

According to the Unity Centre, at least two of the people marked for deportation would be sent to African countries they have no connection to and no means of leaving.

Caseworker Jasmine Sallis told the Star that the situation was untenable and that the centre strongly opposed the use of charter flights.

She said: “The reason we keep speaking out is because of the very worrying and unlawful situations that seem to arise.

“It’s not just about flights sending people to the wrong countries, but also people that have ongoing applications and that can be placed on charter flights.

“That is illustrated by the fact that lots of people manage to come off the charter flights through last-minute legal action.

“The issue is that not everyone can obtain legal support, even though they might have legal avenues to pursue.”

Ms Sallis added that the the Unity Centre was also “very concerned” at the Nigerian and Ghanaian high commissions apparently issuing travel documents paid for by the Home Office to allow the deportations to take place.

“The Nigerian high commission has come out to say that it won’t issue travel documents to people who have been in the UK for most of their lives and they verify everyone’s nationality and that’s just not the case.”