UK judge rejects emergency bid to stop asylum seekers from being sent to Rwanda

The first planeload of migrants is set to be deported to the African country next week, as part of a plan to deter dangerous Channel boat crossings

Rights groups say the move violates asylum seekers’ human rights, adding that the UK government cannot justify its claim that Rwanda is a safe destination

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A UK military servicewoman carries a young child in the port of Dover in May, after the arrival of a group of people thought to be migrants following a small boat incident in the Channel. Photo: PA Wire via dpa

Published: 10:17pm, 10 Jun 2022Updated: 4:57am, 11 Jun 2022

A British judge on Friday rejected an emergency bid to block deportation flights of asylum seekers to Rwanda set to start next week under an agreement with the east African country, ruling politicians must manage immigration policy.

The UK government intends to fly the first planeload of claimants to Rwanda on June 14, after agreeing on the plan with Kigali in a bid to deter illegal migrants from undertaking perilous crossings of the Channel by boat.

Refugee rights groups and a trade union representing UK Border Force personnel challenged the plan in London’s High Court, seeking an injunction against Tuesday’s inaugural flight and any beyond then.

They argue that the plan violates asylum seekers’ human rights, and say the government cannot justify its claim that Rwanda is a safe destination.

But delivering his decision after a one-day hearing, judge Jonathan Swift said it was in the “public interest” for Interior Minister Priti Patel “to be able to implement immigration control decisions”.

Migrants aboard a transport bus in Dover Harbour after being rescued while crossing the English Channel. Photo: Reuters

However, Swift gave permission for his ruling to be appealed, suggesting Court of Appeal judges would hear the case on Monday, whilst also setting the date for a fuller two-day High Court hearing next month.