James Cleverly, in his first interview since the government's plan was approved by parliament on Monday, said he had booked a succession of initial flights and was preparing to order the detention of people seeking refuge in the UK so they could be sent to east Africa.
Aiming to defuse criticism about the cost of the Rwanda plan, which the National Audit Office said could exceed £580m by the end of the decade, he said it would "massively reduce" the costs of housing asylum seekers in the UK.
A new analysis from the Refugee Council has found that the government's sweeping plans to send migrants to Rwanda could cause "a system meltdown".
The home secretary's comments on the scheme were made on a visit to Lampedusa, a Mediterranean island that has been the first European landing point for hundreds of thousands of people escaping war and famine in Africa.
This story is from the April 25, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the April 25, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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