Rishi Sunak confirms Rwanda flights will take off in 10-12 weeks as he vows 'no foreign court will stop us'

Speaking at a press conference on Monday morning, Sunak promised to end the parliamentary deadlock that has stifled his efforts to push through the legislation.

“Enough is enough. No more prevarication, no more delay”, he said.

“Parliament will sit there tonight and vote no matter how late it goes, no ifs, no buts, these flights are going to Rwanda.

“We are going to deliver this indispensable deterrent so that we finally break the business model of the criminal gangs and save lives.

“Starting from the moment the bill passes, we will begin the process of removing those identified for the first flight. We have prepared for this moment.”

The Prime Minister has been embroiled in a bitter row with Labour peers over delays to his Rwanda Bill in its passage through Parliament.

The bill aims to send some asylum seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda and is seen by the prime minister as a potentially vital deterrent for people looking to cross the English Channel in small boats.

Sunak has been hamstrung by a Parliamentary deadlock with peers repeatedly insisting on changes.

But the Prime Minister delivered his clearest sign of intent yet in a punchy statement where he insisted measures are in place to ensure flights take off within the next few months.

“To detain people while we prepare to remove them, we have increased detention spaces to 2,200”, he said.

“To quickly process claims, we have 200 trained, dedicated case workers ready and waiting to deal with any legal cases quickly and decisively.

“The judiciary have made available 25 courtrooms and identified 150 judges who could provide over 5,000 sitting days.

“The Strasbourg court have amended their Rule 39 procedures in line with the tests set out in our Illegal Migration Act, and we have put beyond all doubt that ministers can disregard these injunctions with clear guidance that if they decided to do so, civil servants must deliver that instruction.

“Most importantly, once the processing is complete, we will physically remove people.

“To do that, I can confirm that we have an airfield on standby, booked commercial charter planes for specific slots, and we have 500 highly trained individuals ready to escort illegal migrants all the way to Rwanda with 300 more trained in the coming weeks.

“This is one of the most complex operational endeavours the Home Office has carried out, but we are ready and plans are in place.

“These flights will go come what may. No foreign court will stop us from getting flights off.”