Suella Braverman says the Home Office will be ready to start deporting migrants to Rwanda by the summer as she headed to the East African country to drum up support for the government’s plans.
A Home Office source said “we are certainly working towards getting the flights off before the summer”, adding that Suella Braverman acknowledged it was dependent on the pending legal battles.
“We’re working to make this happen as soon as possible, and there is every possibility that we can move quickly if we get a good line of judgment in our favour,” she told reporters.
No migrants have been relocated to the country so far after the deal was signed last April by Ms Braverman’s predecessor Priti Patel.
It comes as Braverman expanded the agreement with Rwanda to incorporate all those illegally entering the UK as opposed to solely asylum seekers.
Concerns have been raised over the home secretary’s trip out to East Africa after only a select few media outlets were invited to cover it.
Media representatives from outlets including GB News, the Daily Mail, Times, Express and The Telegraph were given access to the trip, while the BBC, The Independent, The Guardian, Daily Mirror and i were not invited.
Looking at this coverage, we can see why:
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