Rwanda flights removing asylum seekers might not happen until JANUARY
Flights removing asylum seekers to Rwanda might not take place until JANUARY as government tries to overturn Court of Appeal’s decision to block the scheme
- Migrants will not be removed from Britain until January ‘at the very earliest’
- The Home Secretary said she remained ‘fully committed’ to the Rwanda policy
- Comes after Ms Braverman given green light to challenge supreme court ruling
Rwanda asylum seeker removal flights will be delayed until at least January, government sources have revealed.
An aspiration to get the first planes off to the capital Kigali between September and December this year has been abandoned after judges blocked the scheme on human rights grounds, according to officials.
Even if the Home Office succeeds in overturning the Court of Appeal decision, migrants will not be removed until January ‘at the very earliest’, it is understood.
It comes after Home Secretary Suella Braverman was given the green light on Thursday to challenge the judges’ ruling at the Supreme Court.
The case is due to be heard in early October, with a ruling expected six to eight weeks later.
If successful, Home Office insiders believe it will be ‘beneficial’ to start removal flights in the winter, when the number of Channel arrivals is lower.
The Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she remained ‘fully committed’ to the Rwanda policy
Once the new Illegal Migration Bill is enacted, the Home Office will have a wider range of powers to remove migrants beyond the scope of the Rwanda deal
It would mean the Home Office is able to remove a higher proportion of migrants reaching Britain at that stage.
Officials hope this would ‘send a strong message’ to smuggling gangs, a government source said.
Before the court’s ruling last month, Rishi Sunak said he hoped Rwanda flights could take off this summer.
The judgment saw a split between senior judges, which Home Office insiders believe will give the Government a good chance of success in the Supreme Court.
The Home Secretary said she remained ‘fully committed’ to the Rwanda policy, which will see migrants who arrive by ‘irregular’ routes such as Channel small boats handed a one-way ticket to the east African nation to claim asylum there.
The Court of Appeal’s ruling was the second time the scheme had been blocked, after judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg intervened to stop the first flight in June 2022.
Once the new Illegal Migration Bill is enacted, the Home Office will have a wider range of powers to remove migrants beyond the scope of the Rwanda deal.
The Bill contains measures to allow ministers to ignore future injunctions by Strasbourg, as well British courts, in such cases.
It comes after Home Secretary Suella Braverman was given the green light on Thursday to challenge the judges’ ruling at the Supreme Court
Robert Jenrick insisted yesterday ministers will not back down in their battle with the Lords over the Bill.
Peers have sought to water down the legislation, but asked whether the Government would concede further ground when the Bill returns to Parliament next week, the immigration minister told the BBC: ‘That’s not our intention. It’s incumbent on those who choose to criticise our plans to provide an alternative.’
He said the Government remained committed to reducing the number of migrants crossing the Channel by targeting criminal gangs.
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