This flawed Rwanda plan brings shame and no gain to the government

Editorial: The new promise of deportation flights starting in July is unlikely to win the prime minister any credit with the public. His unworkable scheme will not ‘stop the boats’ from crossing the Channel, especially in the summer months – and he will only have himself to blame

Rishi Sunak during an Illegal Migration Operations Committee meeting at Downing Street (Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak’s tough rhetoric as he vowed to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda did not mask yet another delay for a scheme that has already taken up two years, four home secretaries and three acts of parliament. After months of promising that the first fight to Kigali would leave “this spring”, the prime minister yesterday conceded it would take another 10 to 12 weeks.

The bill declaring Rwanda a safe country – in effect, overturning last year’s ruling by the Supreme Court – will finally receive royal assent later this week, after a marathon game of ping-pong on Monday night between the Commons and the Lords.

However, an election in Rwanda, due on 15 July, could mean a further delay, as the scheme is unlikely to begin during the campaign. Mr Sunak told a press conference yesterday that the inevitable legal challenges to deportations would be speeded up by the allocation of 25 courtrooms and 150 judges, who would provide more than 5,000 sitting days – the sort of edict that Vladimir Putin would be proud of. Despite the move, experience suggests that lawyers might well find a way to prolong some individual cases.