Deportation of Channel migrants is thrown into doubt

Lawyers are set to ground first Rwanda flight: Deportation of Channel migrants is thrown into doubt as Left-wing activists launch bid to halt removal operation and force judicial review of entire policy

• Charities and trade union applied for an injunction to halt Tuesday’s operation
• The legal tactics likely to lead to the flight being postponed pending resolution
• The moves highlight the scale of opposition to the Home Secretary’s plan 
• Home Office insiders admitted chances of the first flight taking off were ‘slim’ 

Priti Patel’s first migrants flight to Rwanda was in doubt last night after legal actions were lodged against it.

A coalition of charities and a trade union that represents Border Force staff has applied for an injunction to halt Tuesday’s operation. They are also seeking a judicial review of the policy.

The legal tactics, plus a raft of appeals lodged on behalf of individual migrants, are likely to lead to the flight being postponed pending resolution of the issues in court.

The moves highlight the scale of opposition to the Home Secretary’s plan, which she claims will save lives in the Channel and cripple the profits of people-smuggling gangs.

Home Office insiders admitted last night that the chances of the first flight taking off as planned were now ‘slim’.

Priti Patel’s first migrants flight to Rwanda was in doubt last night after legal actions were lodged against it

The legal tactics, plus a raft of appeals lodged on behalf of individual migrants, are likely to lead to the flight being postponed pending resolution of the issues in court

‘There is still a chance, albeit a low chance, that it will happen,’ one source said. ‘It’s still on until a judge says otherwise.’

A Tory source added: ‘It’s no surprise that Labour-supporting organisations and the civil service union are funding legal campaigns to try to cancel the first removal flight. 

‘They opposed the ending of free movement, and now they want to throw open our nation’s borders entirely.

‘They have no alternative to stop these deadly Channel crossings and it’s a shame to see members of the Labour Party standing with them.’

The injunction application is expected to be heard tomorrow.

A charter plane has been booked to head from an undisclosed UK airport to the Rwandan capital of Kigali on Tuesday carrying 130 migrants who have been told they face removal.

But the Daily Mail reported yesterday that more than half those due to be on the flight had already lodged individual legal challenges in attempts to stay in Britain. 

By last night at least 90 appeals had been submitted, with the remaining 40 imminent.

A worker is seen at the Desir Resort Hotel prepared to host asylum seekers sent to Rwanda from Britain, in Kagugu location of Kigali, Rwanda

Most of the individual claims involve allegations of modern slavery or rely on the right to ‘private and family life’ under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Miss Patel has instructed government lawyers to work ‘round the clock’ to defeat the appeals.

The High Court action has been launched by the Public and Commercial Services union alongside the charities Care 4 Calais and Detention Action. 

One of the legal grounds given in the claim is Miss Patel’s ‘failure to make provision for malaria prevention in Rwanda’.

The application also claims it is ‘irrational’ for the Home Office to describe Rwanda as a ‘generally safe’ country and that removing asylum seekers there would breach the Geneva Convention and the ECHR.

Mark Serwotka, of the PCS union said: ‘It appears the Government has learned nothing from the Windrush scandal, among others. PCS is not prepared to countenance our members being put in potentially dangerous and traumatic situations, where they may be asked to act illegally.’

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel on June 7

James Wilson, deputy director of Detention Action, said: ‘Priti Patel is turning a blind eye to the many clear dangers and human rights violations that it would inflict on people seeking asylum.’

Bella Sankey, the charity’s director, was a Labour candidate in the 2019 election. On her campaign leaflet, party leader Sir Keir Starmer hailed her as ‘a woman of principle and integrity’ with a ‘strong track record of successful campaigns for justice’.

A Labour source rejected claims of involvement in the High Court case, saying: ‘As the Government well knows, Labour is not involved. This is desperate lashing-out for a party that’s in chaos.’ 

The £120million asylum deal was signed by Miss Patel and Rwandan foreign affairs minister Dr Vincent Biruta in April. 

It will see ‘irregular migrants’ – such as those who arrived by small boat or in the back of a lorry – handed a one-way ticket to Kigali. They will claim asylum there instead of in Britain, with a support package from UK taxpayers.

Zambia was last night reported by the Daily Telegraph to be a potential extra destination for Channel migrants under an expansion of Miss Patel’s policy.

The number of asylum-seekers to have arrived from northern France so far this year has surged to 10,020, more than double the level at the same point last year.

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