Rishi Sunak has assured the Rwandan president, whom he hosted at a hastily arranged meeting in Downing Street yesterday, that Britain will start deporting migrants to the country this spring.
Downing Street said the prime minister had updated Paul Kagame, who was in London on a private visit, on the next stages of the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which declares the country safe for asylum seekers.
The aim is to address the concerns that in November led the Supreme Court to rule the deportation policy unlawful.
• Rwandan homes earmarked for deported migrants sold to locals
The legislation will return to the Commons on Monday after the Lords delayed its passage last month by forcing through seven amendments that would dilute it.
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The government is confident of forcing the bill through both houses of parliament by the end of next month.
Downing Street said Kagame and Sunak had discussed their wish to start implementing the policy by the end of spring, although there was confusion about whether that meant the end of May or mid-June.
A spokesman said they had discussed the “UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership, which will break the business model of criminal gangs risking lives at sea, and the prime minister updated President Kagame on the next stages of the legislation in parliament”.
He added: “Both leaders looked forward to flights departing to Rwanda in the spring.”
Kagame dodged questions outside No 10 about revelations in The Times yesterday that housing earmarked for migrants had been sold to private buyers. Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, said she was “disappointed” to hear that only a few dozen homes were available for migrants on the Bwiza Riverside Estate where she visited in March last year.
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The Home Office is said to be closer to finding an airline to operate the flights. The private company AirTanker refused to confirm or deny claims that it had been in talks about operating the deportations. The company leases 12 aircraft to the RAF, including the Voyager passenger jet, and two others to the Jet2.com airline.
The Freedom from Torture charity said it had intelligence suggesting that AirTanker was in discussions with the Home Office.
In June 2022 AirTanker said it had no involvement in the policy but refused to respond to inquiries last night by The Times or the charity. The Home Office also refused to comment on possible talks about the flights.
The Ministry of Defence has previously resisted attempts to use RAF aircraft such as the Voyager jet because it is needed for other purposes such as air-to-air refuelling. The MoD is understood to be reluctant to become involved due to the legal repercussions of servicemen and women carrying out government policy likely to attract legal action.
Leasing the aircraft directly from AirTanker could provide a way around these difficulties, according to government sources. Airlines have refused to sign contracts when the Home Office tried to line up planes, fearing damage to their reputations.
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The Home Office tendered a £78 million contract for the transport of migrants to Rwanda last year after Privilege Style, a private Spanish charter firm that was booked for flights in June 2022, pulled out because of the bad publicity.
Commercial airlines have pulled out of operating deportation flights for foreign criminals after numerous incidents in which passengers staged protests to prevent take-off.
RwandAir, Rwanda’s state owned airline, rejected a proposal by the UK government last year to operate deportation flights, it was reported. A Home Office source told the Financial Times: “RwandAir said ‘No’ because of the potential damage to their brand.”
