Rishi Sunak assured that the first flight to carry asylum seekers to Rwanda will leave in 10 to 12 weeks
THE Rishi Sunakits prime minister United Kingdom declares “ready” regarding the deportation asylum seekers to Rwanda “whatever happens”if the bill in question gets the approval of the British Parliament.
“These flights will take off no matter what,” said the British prime minister during a press conference aimed at presenting the means developed by the British government to organize the deportation operation, ahead of the crucial vote in parliament.
Rishi Sunak assured that the first flight that will carry asylum seekers to Rwanda Will depart in 10 to 12 weeks.
“The first flight will depart in ten to twelve weeks…that is, later than we would like,” he said. The original aim of the British government was to start these flights in the spring.
Telling reporters that he would not divulge information on the operational details of the venture, he assured that the British government has made detailed preparations.
“I can confirm that we have made an airport ready, we have booked charter flights and we have 500 highly trained people to escort the illegal immigrants to Rwanda and another 300 will follow in the coming weeks”he said. “We are ready. The plans are ready. And those flights will leave no matter what”he added.
The British prime minister criticized the House of Lords, where the Conservatives do not have a majority, which has been trying for weeks to water down the text of the bill.
The plan to deport migrants was drawn up two years ago by the Tory government and is being presented as the centerpiece of its policy to combat illegal immigration. It provides for the transfer to Rwanda of asylum seekers who have entered UK territory illegally.
The stakes are also electoral for Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, just months before the parliamentary elections, for which all predictions give the Labor Party a comfortable lead.
The bill is accompanied by a new treaty between London and Kigali and seeks to respond to a Supreme Court ruling that ruled the original text illegal last November. In the new text, Rwanda is defined as a safe third country.
“As soon as the bill is passed, we will begin the process of deporting the immigrants who have been designated for the first flight”insisted Rishi Sunak.
The British government has mobilized hundreds of people, mainly judges, to fast-track any migrant appeals and has freed up 2,200 detention places for those waiting for their cases to be heard, Rishi Sunak said.
The British bill is also strongly criticized by the UN. The High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has stated that “contradicts the fundamental principles of human rights”.
