Asylum Seekers Still Locked Up After Failed Rwanda Flight

Asylum seekers detained for removal to Rwanda weeks ago are still being held in detention despite the last-minute grounding of the flight, which legal experts say leaves the government "wide-open" to litigation and aggravated damages claims.

- May Bulman

Ministers have been accused of subjecting vulnerable people to a "cruel experiment" after it emerged that the vast majority of people that the Home Office had hoped to deport to east Africa remain locked up.

This is despite the fact that there is no further flight planned at this stage, meaning there is no "imminent prospect of removal", which lawyers say makes their continued detention potentially unlawful.

A small number of the approximately 130 people originally detained for removal under the new policy have been released in recent days after applying for bail with the specialist immigration court, indicating that bail judges believe this cohort should be released. But bail applications can be a timely process and usually require detainees to have legal representation.

Asylum seekers who remain in detention have told The Independent they feel like they are being "treated like criminals" after being held for weeks without being given any indication as to when they will be released.