Rwanda plan will deport only ‘a small number of migrants’

The Home Office admitted that the Rwandan asylum system was not perfect and only a small number of migrants would be deported as a Supreme Court hearing began yesterday.

Legal documents submitted by the department state that Rwanda was nevertheless a safe country for asylum seekers because of “strong safeguards” as part of the agreement with the UK. Sir James Eadie KC, presenting the Home Office’s case, told the court that Rwanda was “a country less attractive” than the UK “but nevertheless safe”.

The Times revealed last week that Rishi Sunak had drawn up plans to deport more than 4,000 migrants to Rwanda by the next election, but court documents reveal that the Home Office is cautious on initial numbers.

The government is challenging a