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Rwanda flights will not take off before general election, says Sunak Rwanda flights will not take off before general election, says Sunak
(about 1 hour later)
Rishi Sunak says deportation flights will leave in July if he is re-elected as prime ministerRishi Sunak says deportation flights will leave in July if he is re-elected as prime minister
Rishi Sunak has said deportation flights to Rwanda will not leave before the election, saying the scheme would be “up and running” if he was re-elected prime minister.Rishi Sunak has said deportation flights to Rwanda will not leave before the election, saying the scheme would be “up and running” if he was re-elected prime minister.
In a downscaling of plans to launch flights carrying asylum seekers in early June, the prime minister said the flights would leave in July, with the caveat: “If I am re-elected as prime minister on 5 July, these flights will go.” In a change of plans to launch flights carrying asylum seekers in June, the prime minister said the flights would leave in July, with the caveat: “If I am re-elected as prime minister on 5 July, these flights will go.”
Pressed further on timing by LBC radio in his first interviews after calling the snap poll, he said: “No, after the election. The preparation work has already gone on.”Pressed further on timing by LBC radio in his first interviews after calling the snap poll, he said: “No, after the election. The preparation work has already gone on.”
Sunak made stopping small-boat crossings in the Channel one of his key pledges when he became leader – and the government had claimed that flights to Rwanda would leave from the end of June. However, fresh legal action by human rights charities has been launched against the Rwanda scheme, and Channel crossings are at record highs in the first half of 2024, suggesting there has been no discernible deterrent effect.Sunak made stopping small-boat crossings in the Channel one of his key pledges when he became leader – and the government had claimed that flights to Rwanda would leave from the end of June. However, fresh legal action by human rights charities has been launched against the Rwanda scheme, and Channel crossings are at record highs in the first half of 2024, suggesting there has been no discernible deterrent effect.
The disclosure that the £500m scheme will not begin before the election will come as news to home office figures who had insisted earlier this month that flights could take off by the end of June. The disclosure that the £500m scheme will not begin before the election will come as news to Home Office figures who had insisted earlier this month that flights could take off by the end of June.
Yvette Cooper MP, the shadow home secretary, said Sunak’s comments proved that the Rwanda plan was a “con” all along.Yvette Cooper MP, the shadow home secretary, said Sunak’s comments proved that the Rwanda plan was a “con” all along.
“The Prime Minister’s own words this morning show this whole Rwanda scheme has been a con from start to finish. “The prime minister’s own words this morning show this whole Rwanda scheme has been a con from start to finish.
“With all the hundreds of millions they have spent, it would be extraordinary if ‘symbolic flights’ didn’t take off in early July, as the Tories planned. But Rishi Sunak’s words confirm what we’ve known all along - he doesn’t believe this plan will work and that’s why he called the election now in the desperate hope that he won’t be found out.” “With all the hundreds of millions they have spent, it would be extraordinary if ‘symbolic flights’ didn’t take off in early July, as the Tories planned. But Rishi Sunak’s words confirm what we’ve known all along – he doesn’t believe this plan will work and that’s why he called the election now in the desperate hope that he won’t be found out.”
Kolbassia Haoussou, a director at the charity Freedom from Torture which has challenged the Rwanda plan in the courts, said: “This is a victory for compassionate people up and down the country who have joined our calls for an asylum system that treats people fleeing torture and persecution humanely. Kolbassia Haoussou, a director at the charity Freedom from Torture, which has challenged the Rwanda plan in the courts, said: “This is a victory for compassionate people up and down the country who have joined our calls for an asylum system that treats people fleeing torture and persecution humanely.”
“The prime minister’s own words this morning show this whole Rwanda scheme has been a con from start to finish. With all the hundreds of millions they have spent, it would be extraordinary if ‘symbolic flights’ didn’t take off in early July, as the Tories planned. But Rishi Sunak’s words confirm what we’ve known all along - he doesn’t believe this plan will work and that’s why he called the election now in the desperate hope that he won’t be found out.” Labour has said it will not deport migrants to Rwanda if the party wins the election, saying it will set up a new border force command using £75m from the existing budget for the Rwanda scheme.
Labour has said it would not deport migrants to Rwanda if the party wins the election, saying it would set up a new border force command using £75m from the existing budget for the Rwanda scheme.
Sunak told BBC Breakfast this plan amounted to an “amnesty” for new migrants who arrive illegally, who now have no routes to apply for asylum.Sunak told BBC Breakfast this plan amounted to an “amnesty” for new migrants who arrive illegally, who now have no routes to apply for asylum.
Sunak said: “If you want border security, if you want to restore fairness to our migration system, there’s a clear choice, and I’m the one that’s prepared to take bold action.Sunak said: “If you want border security, if you want to restore fairness to our migration system, there’s a clear choice, and I’m the one that’s prepared to take bold action.
“I believe the only way to fully solve this problem is to have a deterrent. To make it crystal clear that if you come to our country illegally, you won’t be able to stay and we’ll be able to remove you to a safe third country alternative.”“I believe the only way to fully solve this problem is to have a deterrent. To make it crystal clear that if you come to our country illegally, you won’t be able to stay and we’ll be able to remove you to a safe third country alternative.”
Sunak said Labour’s plan would make the UK “a soft touch. Europe will be a magnet for illegal migrants from everywhere.”Sunak said Labour’s plan would make the UK “a soft touch. Europe will be a magnet for illegal migrants from everywhere.”
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Pressed on whether any flights to Rwanda would take off, after previous promises they would go within 12 weeks, Sunak said: “The first flights will go in July, and we’ve already put the preparations in place for that. We’ve hired hundreds of caseworkers, identified the cohort … we’ve already started detaining people. We’ve hired the escorts we’ve got an airfield on standby. We’ve booked the flight. So all of that work is already ongoing.Pressed on whether any flights to Rwanda would take off, after previous promises they would go within 12 weeks, Sunak said: “The first flights will go in July, and we’ve already put the preparations in place for that. We’ve hired hundreds of caseworkers, identified the cohort … we’ve already started detaining people. We’ve hired the escorts we’ve got an airfield on standby. We’ve booked the flight. So all of that work is already ongoing.
“And then the choice of this election is clear, because if I’m re-elected as prime minister on 5 July, these flights will go, we will get our Rwanda scheme up and running, we will ensure that we have a deterrent and that’s how we’re going to break the cycle of these gangs.”“And then the choice of this election is clear, because if I’m re-elected as prime minister on 5 July, these flights will go, we will get our Rwanda scheme up and running, we will ensure that we have a deterrent and that’s how we’re going to break the cycle of these gangs.”
Responding to Sunak’s comments on the Rwanda fights, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael MP, said: “This is an utter humiliation and admission of defeat from a prime minister who has thrown millions at his failing vanity project. Responding to Sunak’s comments on the Rwanda fights, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael, said: “This is an utter humiliation and admission of defeat from a prime minister who has thrown millions at his failing vanity project.”
“The Rwanda scheme has been an immoral and expensive disaster from day one. To think that the money already spent on this failing policy could have paid for nearly 7m GP appointments instead just adds insult to injury.” Sunak made the admission about his Rwanda scheme as new revised official estimates showed net migration to the UK dipped by 10% last year after rising to a new record of 764,000 in 2022.
Sunak’s scheme was hit by another setback last week after a high court judge in Northern Ireland ruled it undermines human rights protections guaranteed in the region under post-Brexit arrangements. The latest numbers show that overall figure remains three times the level in 2019 when the Tories promised to reduce overall figures.
Net migration is expected to be a key issue in the election, particularly in seats where the Tories are facing stiff competition from the Reform party, which is at 11% in the polls.
Revised estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) put net migration to the UK in the year to December 2022 higher than previously thought. However, the figure for the year to December 2023 is estimated to be lower, at 685,000.
The ONS said it was too early to tell if this was the start of a new downward trend but that the most recent estimates indicated the number of people coming to the UK was slowing while the number of those leaving was rising.
Sunak was also challenged on his promise to improve the economy, admitting there was “more to do” for people to feel the effects of lower inflation.Sunak was also challenged on his promise to improve the economy, admitting there was “more to do” for people to feel the effects of lower inflation.
“I think people are only starting to feel the benefits of the changes we brought to the economy, because it has been an incredibly tough few years, the Covid pandemic, a war in Ukraine, the impact on energy bills, that’s not going to magically change overnight, but we are making progress.“I think people are only starting to feel the benefits of the changes we brought to the economy, because it has been an incredibly tough few years, the Covid pandemic, a war in Ukraine, the impact on energy bills, that’s not going to magically change overnight, but we are making progress.
“And the inflation news is good evidence of that inflation back to normal and actually faster than our major rivals like America and the eurozone. Similarly, our economy growing now again at healthy pace, wages have been rising ahead of prices for almost a year now, energy bills are falling. So those are all signs that our economic plan is working.”“And the inflation news is good evidence of that inflation back to normal and actually faster than our major rivals like America and the eurozone. Similarly, our economy growing now again at healthy pace, wages have been rising ahead of prices for almost a year now, energy bills are falling. So those are all signs that our economic plan is working.”