Farage - I'll bet anyone no flights to Rwanda will take off before the next General Election

Farage - I'll bet anyone no flights to Rwanda will take off before the next General Election
Georgia Pearce

By Georgia Pearce


Published: 09/02/2024

- 11:04

Nigel Farage has said he will bet “anyone anything they like” that no planes carrying asylum seekers will fly to Rwanda before the next General Election.

He told GB News: ““Everywhere you look you just see an asylum system that is failing. When you think that we've given asylum to over half a million people since 2016 ask yourself how many bad guys are in them?

“Just how many people intend to do us harm? The whole thing is a complete catastrophe."

Farage also said he believed he had exposed that the Prime Minister was lying about Rwanda.

“On March 7th last year [Sunak] stood behind a podium with the slogan saying ‘Stop the boats’. He told us that with the Illegal Migration Bill, that if you come here across the channel you will not be able to claim asylum; you will be detained and you will be deported: you will not be able to stay.

“But the documents that I was shown - internal Home Office documents showing none of that's actually true. The fact is you can have an appeal that will last up to 180 days.

“That we only have detention facilities for 1000 people and most of those are used up by serious foreign criminals who have been caught in our system. The admission that the absconding rate would be very high, and the backlog would go up to between 150,000 and 200,000 by mid 2026.

“Literally, at the moment he was making us promises he was being told that none of this is going to work, none of this is possible.

“Is it any wonder but his personal ratings are now on a par with Prince Andrew? Is it any wonder that their national poll rating was at 20% just the other day?

“You can do lots of things to the British public, but you can't lie to them, and that is what Sunak has done. It doesn't even matter now what he says between now and the election, he will not be forgiven.

“The [leaked Home Office] document said in year one, the maximum number we could send [to Rwanda] was 500 and then if things go well it might go up in years two or three to 3,000.

“500 was the most that were ever going to go to Rwanda in year one.

“I know there was a bet recently the Prime Minister made. I know the Cabinet said they’re not betting people, well I am.

“I'd be very happy to have a bet with anyone for anything they like that not a single plane will go to Rwanda between now and the next General Election.”

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