The first asylum seeker has been deported to Rwanda under Rishi Sunak’s migrant crackdown.
The migrant, whose name is unknown, was flown out of the UK yesterday evening and arrived in Kigali.
He was put on a commercial flight and given around £3,000 from the British taxpayer to help relocate under the terms of a deal with Rwanda.
It marks the first time the government has relocated a failed asylum seeker to a third country.
The man’s attempt to stay in Britain was rejected at the end of 2023, before he accepted the offer to start a new life in the central African nation.
A source told The Sun: ‘This proves it’s possible and legal for Britain to remove failed asylum seekers to Rwanda successfully and smoothly.’
In March, The Home Office confirmed the voluntary relocation plan for those found in Britain without the right to be here.
In 2023, 19,000 failed asylum seekers were voluntarily taken out of the UK, after being told they would never be granted the rights of legal migrants.
There are still tens of thousands of migrants in the system who cannot be sent back to their home countries. Ministers said it is cheaper to send migrants to Rwanda than to support them in Britain, even after giving them money and flights.
Bungling Home Office officials reportedly admitted they can’t find thousands of migrants who are set to be deported to Rwanda, it was reported yesterday.
An updated document assessing the impact of the partnership with the east African country states that Rwanda has agreed to accept 5,700 people.
But in an embarrassing admission by the Home Secretary James Cleverly’s department, it says only 2,143 continue to report and their whereabouts are known.
Sources admitted to The Times that there was significant risk that they could have absconded now that the deportation bill has passed through Parliament.
However, the Home Office has said that the remaining 3,557 people may not have absconded but are not subject to reporting restrictions.
