Rwanda plan will go down in history as ‘absurd and inhumane’, says charity boss

Campaigners have called for asylum seekers due to be sent to Rwanda to be freed immediately from detention after the Prime Minister admitted flights would not take off before the General Election.

Rishi Sunak insisted the “preparation work” was already in motion and the plan would deter Channel crossings once in action but conceded deportations would only take place “after the election”, adding: “If I’m elected, we will get the flights off.”

The comments prompted Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to claim Mr Sunak never believed in the plan and had called an early election to avoid testing the policy.

While a migrant charity critical of the deal said it would “go down in the history of British policymaking as an Alice in Wonderland adventure that was both absurd and inhumane”.

Prior to the General Election being called, the Government had been braced for more legal battles over the policy.

The Home Office has already released some migrants, who were detained for Rwanda flights, on bail, the PA news agency understands.

Department officials refused to say how many people already being held in immigration removal centres in anticipation of flights had been freed on bail so far, or whether more are due to be released.

The Prime Minister’s comments raise the possibility that courts may now look more favourably on immigration bail applications, in light of rules which state migrants can only be detained if there is a realistic prospect of their removal from the UK within a reasonable time scale.

This means they could be released on bail if no action is being taken to deport them.

Steve Smith, chief executive of Care4Calais said: “To keep people locked up in a detention centre for the duration of a six-week General Election campaign would be unnecessary human cruelty.

“If Rwanda detainees are not automatically released, then people will need legal support to apply for bail, which they have very strong grounds to be granted.”

Detention Action director James Wilson said: “Even prior to the announcement that there would be no flights to Rwanda before the election, removal was too distant a prospect to justify detaining people. Everyone must be released urgently to safe accommodation.”

Enver Solomon (pictured), chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “The Rwanda plan will go down in the history of British policymaking as an Alice in Wonderland adventure that was both absurd and inhumane.

“The Government has been trying and failing for over two years to get flights off the ground, only to be frustrated by reality. The Rwanda plan won’t stop the boats, won’t stop the criminal gangs and won’t stop deaths in the Channel.

“The simple truth is that the next government will be facing an asylum system in meltdown, as the backlog of cases without a decision keeps getting bigger and bigger.

“It must quickly process all asylum claims and restore the right to asylum for any person who comes to our country seeking safety, so they are given a fair hearing on UK soil and treated with the dignity and humanity they deserve. Anybody who has been detained should now be immediately released.”

Sonya Sceats, chief executive at Freedom from Torture, said: “Together our massive movement of caring people has created too many hurdles for this cruel cash-for-humans scheme to get off the ground.

“It’s inhumane and unacceptable for survivors of torture to be detained for immigration purposes anyway, yet there are many among those who were rounded up for removal to Rwanda.

“The Prime Minister’s announcement makes it imperative that anyone detained for this scheme be released immediately.

“Compassionate people up and down the country have been sickened by this performative cruelty designed to generate headlines and stoke fear among people fleeing torture and persecution.

“This is not who we are as a country, and we’re calling for a fair humane approach that protects the safety of the men, women and children who’ve fled unimaginable horrors.”

It comes as Home Office figures published on Thursday showed 17 Rwandans who claimed asylum in the UK were granted refugee status or other forms of leave to remain in the year to March 2024, including six children.

Over the same period, 32 Rwandan nationals returned to their home country because they did not have a legal right to stay in the UK, the majority of whom (29) made the journey voluntarily.

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