The prime minister has said the first deportation flights to Rwanda will leave “in 10 to 12 weeks”, hours before MPs are due to vote on his emergency legislation.
Rishi Sunak said teams across government were “working flat out to deliver this genuine game changer” – with an airfield on standby and booked commercial charter planes to get the first flights off to the east African nation.
“No ifs, not buts, these flights are going to Rwanda,” the prime minister vowed.
Mr Sunak was speaking at a press conference in Downing Street just hours before MPs and peers vote on his emergency legislation, possibly well into the evening.
The controversial bill returns to the Commons today following several rounds of parliamentary ping-pong, which has seen the Lords express their opposition to the proposals through a series of amendments the prime minister does not accept.
Mr Sunak vowed last week that today would be the day the bill finally got through parliament, telling reporters there would be “no more prevarication, no more delay”.
He repeated that assertion today, telling journalists: “Enough is enough”, adding: “Parliament will sit there tonight and vote no matter how late it goes.”
Mr Sunak described his plan – which aims to send asylum seekers who arrive in the UK via irregular means to Rwanda for processing – as an “indispensable deterrent ” that removes the incentive for people to come to the UK illegally.
“Starting from the moment that the bill passes, we will begin the process of removing those identified for the first flight,” he said.
“We have prepared for this moment.”
While he refused to go into “sensitive” operations details, the prime minister did outline a number of measures the government was taking to prepare for the first flights to take off.
He said it had increased detention spaces to 2,200 and trained 200 dedicated caseworkers to process claims quickly. Around 25 courtrooms have been made available and 150 judges will provide 5,000 sitting days.
Mr Sunak also said there were “500 highly trained individuals ready to escort illegal migrants all the way to Rwanda, with 300 more trained in the coming week”.
“This is one of the most complex operational endeavours the Home Office has carried out,” he continued. “But we are ready, plans are in place and these flights will go, come what may.
“No foreign court will stop us from getting flights off.”
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