Britain’s first flight carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda failed to take off as scheduled on Tuesday.
The British government’s plan to send some immigrants to the East African country was criticized by opponents, charities and religious leaders as inhumane, and it faced a series of legal challenges in the London courts to prevent it from happening.
An activist holds a sign against immigrants flying to Rwanda near London Heathrow Airport (Photo: REUTERS / Henry Nicholls)
In recent days, at least 30 people scheduled to board the first flight have argued that they should not be deported to Rwanda on health or human rights grounds, and they have won.
Only a handful of migrants are due to fly from an air force base in south-west England on Tuesday, but shortly before takeoff, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a restraining order to stop their deportation.
“I have always said that implementing this policy is not easy and I was disappointed that legal challenge and last minute demands prevented the flight from taking off today,” Home Minister Priti Patel said.
“Despite repeated successes in our domestic courts, the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights is astounding.”
He said the government would not be deterred and would prepare for the next flight.
