Illegal immigration minister: We are determined to see planes to Rwanda take off

Illegal immigration minister: We are determined to see planes to Rwanda take off
Ben Chapman

By Ben Chapman


Published: 23/04/2024

- 10:32

ILLEGAL Immigration Minister Michael Tomlinson has said that the Government is “determined” to see planes take off now that the Rwanda bill has been approved by Parliament.

He said on GB News: “Our assessment is that we have drafted it in a clear and unambiguous way, such as the courts are going to have to listen to what Parliament and the act of Parliament says.

“We're determined to see those planes take off…it's important for this reason, because we need to see that deterrent in place.

“We need to see that people who come here illegally, people who are smuggled over by the evil criminals who are smuggling gangs, that you are not going to be able to stay here, that you are going to be removed quickly to Rwanda, and that will be the deterrent that's put in place to ensure the small boats stopped coming.

“Frankly, we've seen more interest from the Labour Party in stopping the flights. We are determined to stop the boats.”

In a discussion with Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster, he continued: “I want us to ensure that there are going to be regular fights. That's what I want to see.

“But there are those, as has been hinted at before, who are determined to ensure that this policy does not work, those in the Labour Party and others as well who are determined to set up whatever challenges whether that's legal, whatever obstacles they're determined to throw that in the way of this scheme.

“So, I'm just going to be a little bit cautious. I’m not going to reveal every detail that's going to happen, but you are right. We do want to have a regular rhythm.

“We do want to have regular flights, but it's going to take 10 to 12 weeks before we get that first flight off the ground.”

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