No Rwanda deportations before General Election, government confirms

The Government has told the High Court it will not deport asylum seekers to Rwanda before the General Election after a judge ordered it to disclose when removals would begin.

On Thursday, judge Mr Justice Chamberlain ordered the Cabinet Office and Home Office to tell the court the earliest date they planned to start removals.

The request came amid legal challenges to the Government’s policy, with the FDA trade union, which represents senior civil servants, launching legal action over the plans which would deport some asylum seekers to the east African nation.

The challenge had been due to be heard at a hearing on June 6, after the Government told the High Court the earliest dates individuals were expected to be removed to Rwanda were July 1-15.

In the new order published on Wednesday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the Government confirmed to the court on Tuesday that it “does not intend to carry out enforced removals to Rwanda before the General Election on 4 July 2024”.

The judge confirmed next month’s hearing will take place as planned after the response.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously appeared to admit the Rwanda flights will not take off before the election, telling BBC Breakfast on May 23: “The first flights will go in July.”

Mr Sunak added: “If I’m re-elected as Prime Minister on July 5, these flights will go, we will get our Rwanda scheme up and running.”

In his order on May 23, published on Tuesday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said: “The timetable for this claim was set on the basis that removals to Rwanda would begin at the earliest on July 1 2024.

“The Government then changed its position, saying that removals could begin in the week commencing June 24 2024.

“Following the announcement of a General Election, the Prime Minister has said that removals will begin ‘in July’.

“That provides insufficient clarity for the purposes of timetabling this claim.”

The full Government response to the judge’s order has not been made public.

The Home Office has released on bail some migrants who were detained for Rwanda flights, the PA news agency understands.

Department officials previously refused to say how many people being held in immigration removal centres in anticipation of flights had been freed on bail, or whether more are due to be released.

More than 10,000 migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the Channel.

Home Office figures show 51 people made the journey in one boat on Sunday, taking the provisional total for 2024 to date to 10,448, with no crossings recorded on Monday.

Crossings are up 38% on this time last year (7,558) and 12% higher than the 9,326 recorded at this stage in 2022, PA analysis shows.