T hrough the perimeter fence of Stansted, ominously lit up no more than 150 metres away on the airport’s apron, stands a Titan Airways Boeing 767 aeroplane.

The plane is due to fly that night to west Africa, deporting 60 people classed as illegal immigrants by the Home Office. Tied to their seats with waist-restraint belts and with shackles on their ankles, the 60 wait in a nearby coach.