FIRST RWANDA ASYLUM FLIGHTS 'THIS SUMMER'

Home Secretary vows to close loopholes on trip to 'safe' country

- Steph Spyro

SUELLA'S HISTORIC AFRICAN TRIP

SUELLA BRAVERMAN is confident the first flight carrying migrants from the UK to Rwanda will take off by summer. 

The Home Secretary yesterday witnessed preparations firsthand as the African nation gears up to take in thousands who enter Britain in small boats.

She said she was “confident” that legal loopholes will be sealed off, bringing a halt to endless courtroom battles over deportation orders. And Mrs Braverman vowed: “We are working to make this happen as soon as possible and there is every possibility that we can move quickly.”

The first flights will take off within days of an Appeal Court ruling over the Rwanda policy, which could come as early as May.

A Government source said its new Bill on illegal immigration, currently going through Parliament, would “seal off all the loopholes”, bringing a stop to endless legal fights over deporting those who enter the UK in small boats.

The confident prediction of a summer take-off for the plan came during a flying visit to Rwandan capital Kigali yesterday.

The source added that UK officials are “certainly working towards getting the flights off before summer”.

Mrs Braverman said she had “total confidence” in the partnership, adding that “Rwanda is clearly ready” to begin receiving migrants.

She said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “has been emphatic in pledging to stop the boats” crossing the Channel.

As she spoke to locals and inspected new housing, Mrs Braverman said that she believes there is a “gross misperception” about Rwanda in the UK.