Migrant flights to Rwanda to begin in June Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA
Home Office officials fear numbers of migrants number of deportees on first flight to Rwanda may be clear due to legal challenges.
These concerns are believed to be behind attempts to expand the flagship scheme to include all rejected asylum seekers beyond the original cohort of 5,700. migrants are yet to be deported.
Hundreds of migrants have been detained over the past two weeks as they prepare for the first flight, scheduled for late June or early July.
However, lawyers are preparing to file legal challenges to the deportation of individual migrants under Rwanda's Security Act, despite that the law was designed to limit appeals.
A source close to flight planning said: “We will do our best to get double digits on the first flight due to the attrition rate due to legal issues.”
Migrants can take legal action if they can provide “compelling evidence relating specifically to a person's particular circumstances” that Rwanda is not a safe country for them personally.
Legal claims are expected to be based on Articles Two and Three. European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protect the right to life and protection against torture.
Campaigners suggested that migrants would be able to challenge the expulsion on the grounds of potential harm to their mental and physical health, and that those who had previously protested would also have a strong case.
The first flight is due to take off. in Rwanda in 2022 there were just seven migrants on board before it was blocked by European judges.
'Deterrence is working'
However, the claim that there will be a small number of deportees on board the upcoming flight is disputed. from official sources.
A Home Office spokesman said: “Containment in Rwandan policy is simple and is already showing signs of working. If you came to the UK illegally and now if you have been refused asylum and have no right to be here, you will be sent away. This has always been the goal, and this is not new or hasty.”
He added: “We do not recognize these statements and they do not reflect our current operational planning. Detentions of those in the deportation queue continue and we are actively working to begin flights in July.”
One said: “It's not about the number of passengers on one plane; is that the Prime Minister has established a regular rhythm of flights that continue to take people out of the UK.”
The claims come as Home Secretary James Cleverley announced on Wednesday that all rejected asylum seekers will now be eligible for forced removal to Rwanda after a deal was agreed between the UK and Rwanda to extend this to them. scheme.
This goes beyond the previous criteria for people who have arrived in the UK illegally since January 2021, and is in addition to a voluntary scheme that offers rejected asylum seekers up to £3,000 to relocate there. So far, one migrant is known to have accepted the offer.
Critics have argued it is evidence of the Home Office's desperation to improve its chances of getting enough migrants for the “drumbeat” of scheduled flights that the Prime Minister the minister has promised for the summer.
Legal sources suggest it could also reduce the likelihood of litigation as the Home Office could argue that asylum claims were fully vetted, unlike other migrants who were barred from making statements. according to the law.
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