Rwanda migrants flight latest news: Home Office ‘undeterred’ after legal battle grounds plane

The interior minister said “she will not be deterred from doing the right thing” as government sources confirmed to the PA news agency that all the migrants had been removed from the plane which was to take off on Tuesday. at night.

The Rwandan government has reacted with “insulting” criticism of plans to relocate migrants from the UK.

Yolande Makolo, a spokeswoman for the East African nation’s administration, said opponents were “missing the big picture” of efforts to improve the country’s standard of living and provide better opportunities. so that they do not lose their young people in “Europe”. ”As well as providing a safe haven for refugees.

Speaking to reporters in Kigali on Tuesday before the first deportation flight landed, Ms Makolo said: “There is a point that we want to convey as Africans, that Africa should not be seen as a place that creates problems and creates migrants and creates migrants.

Speaking of the trend, Sunder Katwala, director of the British Future think tank, noted that left-wing and right-wing commentators also use it against people they disagree with or dislike. of ethnic minorities are disproportionately targeted.

The nation’s newspapers are leading by reaction to the cancellation of the flight to Rwanda following a late ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.

The Independent leads with last-minute suspension of flight to Rwanda. The Times, The Daily Telegraph i Daily mail all complain that the plane landed after migrants on board received court orders against its withdrawal.

See more covers here:

The first migrants to arrive in Rwanda under the new radical UK agreement to curb the crossing of the Canal will have the opportunity to rebuild their lives in the East African nation.

The group will probably be transferred to a private terminal at Kigali International Airport before being transferred directly to the accommodation at the Hope Hostel, where they will have the opportunity to rest, eat and settle in. take the Covid-19 test. before being processed.

According to the Rwandan government, this is the only facility used for initial accommodation according to the plan so far.

Celebrities have condemned the government’s “brutal, stupid and harmful” actions amid the legal battle to deport migrants to Rwanda.

A plane carrying several people to Rwanda landed on Tuesday night following last-minute interventions by the European Court of Human Rights. Comics Frankie Boyle, Simon Brodkin and Sue Perkins were among those who commented on the political controversy.

“Grenfell’s birthday flight to Rwanda says it all about the direction we’ve taken in the last five years,” Boyle wrote on Twitter.

His co-star Nish Kumar also hailed the news of the canceled flight as “amazing” and “amazing,” sharing tweets from refugee action group Stop Deportations.

Following the news of the shutdown, Deborah Frances White, presenter of the Guilty Feminist podcast, added: “Amazing.

“Imagine the emotional weight of those already traumatized souls who boarded this plane and then took off. Are they still detained?”

Simon Brodkin, known for his political jokes, joked: “Rwanda ‘s deportation flight has been delayed for the sixth time.

“Priti Patel is committed to never using Ryanair again.”

Sue Perkins described the announcement that the government would proceed with its decision to expel migrants as “shameless.”

“Today, the government has come up with the most brutal, stupid and damaging responses to the problems they created in the first place,” he wrote.

“This is where xenophobia and ‘sovereignty’ take you; violating international law and sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.

“Shameless, many.”

The most embarrassing civil flight in British history has been postponed, thanks to an out-of-hours judge at the European Court of Human Rights.

The fact that it has been postponed by judicial intervention does not diminish the symbolic impact of a founding signatory of the United Nations, and of the European conventions on refugees, forcing all tendons to renounce a responsibility that he solemnly assumed after the last world War. .

A Rwandan government spokesman has said he is not deterred by the successful legal bids that saw the first deportation plane bound for the country.

Yolande Makolo said: “Rwanda remains fully committed to making this partnership work. The current situation of people on dangerous journeys cannot continue as it is causing so much suffering.

“Rwanda is ready to receive migrants when they arrive and offer them security and opportunities in our country.”

The intervention of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) shows how “potentially dangerous” the government’s policy in Rwanda is, activists have said.

“Tonight is a night for history books and the European Court of Human Rights, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has done what it set out to do,” said James Wilson, deputy director of Detention Action. “The ECHR has recognized that no one should be forced to board a plane until next month the High Court hears our substantial legal challenge to this policy.”