Home Office 'secretly planning a flight deporting migrants to Rwanda'

Home Office ‘is secretly planning a flight deporting migrants to Rwanda that could take off within weeks’ – as optimism grows of victory in the Court of Appeal

• First flight to Rwanda was blocked in June last year following legal challenge
• But ministers are said to be optimistic a flight could go ahead in September

The Home Office is reportedly planning a flight to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda in late September – amid growing optimism of a victory in the Court of Appeal. 

The first planned flight to Rwanda, where Home Secretary Suella Braverman wanted to send thousands of migrants, was blocked in June last year following a last-minute ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.

The £140m deal has subsequently yet to deport a single migrant due to a mass of legal challenges from unions and human rights groups.

But ministers are understood to believe that, if judges throw out the appeal, there is unlikely to be legal justification for sending the case up from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court.

A Government source told The Sun: ‘There’s a world in which we are wheels-up later this year and the Supreme Court do not get involved.’

The Hope Hostel in Kigali, Rwanda, where it is planned migrants will stay after arriving from the UK on a deportation flight

Members of the staff board a plane reported to be first to transport migrants to Rwanda before it was halted at the last minute

In December, the High Court ruled the policy was lawful, but that decision is being challenged by asylum seekers from countries including Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Iran and Vietnam along with some human rights organisations.

The Court of Appeal is expected to give a ruling later this month.

Rwanda says migrants will be treated with respect and dignity and the deal will offer them better opportunities.

It comes as Rishi Sunak is ready to ram his Channel boats plan through the House of Lords despite resistance from peers.

The PM has suggested he will use the Parliament Act to force the Illegal Migration Bill through, saying it was ‘very strongly’ backed by MPs and ‘incredibly important’.

The comments – in an interview with the Telegraph – raise the prospect that the objections of the Upper House, including religious leaders such as the Archbishop of Canterbury, will be overruled.

The £140m deal has yet to deport a single migrant due to a mass of legal challenges from unions and human rights groups

The Parliament Act is a rarely-used mechanism that limits the blocking powers of peers. It was last deployed by Tony Blair to get the Hunting Act on the statute book.

Mr Sunak hinted at the drastic move as he insisted his plan to ‘stop the boats’ is starting to work. On a visit to Kent, he argued that numbers crossing the Channel were down 20 per cent this year.

The stakes for the premier were underlined by a poll indicated that Labour is 14 points ahead – and immigration could sway the votes of huge numbers of Conservative supporters.

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