Britain’s first flight carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda failed to take off as scheduled on Tuesday after a European human rights court issued an injunction blocking the deportation of some migrants.
The British government’s plan to send some immigrants to the East African country has been criticized by opponents, charities and religious leaders, who say it is inhumane, and has faced several legal challenges in London courts to prevent this from happening. had to do.
A worker holds a sign against migrants traveling to Rwanda near London Heathrow Airport (Photo: Reuters/Henry Nichols)
In recent days, at least 30 persons who were about to board the first flight argued that they should not be deported to Rwanda on health or human rights grounds, and they were successful.
Only a few migrants were due to take off from an Air Force base in south-west England on Tuesday, but shortly before the plane departed, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) granted an injunction preventing their deportation.
Home Minister Priti Patel said, “I have always said that implementing this policy will not be easy and I am disappointed that the legal challenge and last-minute claims prevented today’s flight from taking off.”
“Despite repeated past successes in our domestic courts, the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights is very surprising.”
He said that the government would not be distracted and would prepare for the next flight.
