Deported Iraqis are sent back to UK

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Only 10 out of about 40 failed asylum-seekers were allowed to remain in Iraq after their plane arrived in capital city Baghdad on Thursday.

The remainder were flown back to the UK, where they were held at a detention centre near Gatwick Airport.

The Home Office was not immediately able to say why they had been refused entry to Iraq, or whether there would be a further attempt to deport them.

It is understood that the asylum-seekers were being removed from the UK against their will and were accompanied by around 80 escorts on their flight to Iraq.

The flight is thought to have been the first attempt to return Iraqis to Baghdad since the outbreak of war in 2003.

The chief executive of the UK Border Agency Lin Homer said: "We are establishing a new route to Southern Iraq and have successfully returned 10 Iraqis to the Baghdad area. This is an important first step for us.

"We are working closely with the Iraq Government to iron out the issues which led to some of the returnees being sent back, and expect to carry out another flight in the future.

"Having an enforced route for returns is an important part of our overall approach; however the Government prefers the majority of returnees to leave voluntarily. In the past three years more than 2,500 people have chosen to return to Iraq under the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme and we expect that to continue."