The plan to send migrants to Rwanda has reportedly been put on hold until the Conservative Party leadership contest is completed.
In April, Home Secretary Priti Patel signed what she branded a “world-first” agreement to send migrants deemed to have arrived in the UK illegally to Rwanda.
The first flight to Rwanda was due to take off last month, but was cancelled at the last minute due to 11th-hour legal challenges.
The first Rwanda migrant flight was due to take off last month
Andrew Matthews
A leadership contest began after Boris Johnson announced his resignation last week
HENRY NICHOLLS
The Government had said that they will press on with plans to send migrants to Rwanda despite Boris Johnson’s resignation last week.
But Government officials are now saying that there is “zero chance” of any migrants being flown to Rwanda while the Tory leadership contest is ongoing, according to the Times.
Such a flight would cause too much controversy during the leadership campaigns, the report added.
More than 13,000 people have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the Channel from France, according to provisional government figures.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, from Amnesty International UK, has urged the Government to re-think the “disastrous plan”, claiming it was “irresponsible and callous”.
He added: “The UK government is so far removed from reality and lacking in humanity that they are not only destroying the asylum system but also people’s lives.”
All Prime Ministerial candidates have publicly backed the Rwanda plan.
