Rwanda News Uk

Rwanda asylum flights grounded by European court

First deportation flight due to leave on Tuesday

Government says it will challenge ruling

The inaugural flight of the UK government scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was stopped by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday night. The first flights deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda were due to take off in 10 to 12 weeks, Home Secretary Priti Patel said on Tuesday morning. But the ECHR ruled that the UK government could not deport asylum seekers to Rwanda until it had investigated whether they would be at risk of torture or inhumane treatment. The government said it was "disappointed" by the ruling and would challenge it. "We will not be deterred from doing the right thing and delivering our plans to control illegal immigration," a government spokesperson said. The government has said that Rwanda is a safe country with a good human rights record. However, the UN refugee agency has expressed concerns about the scheme, saying that Rwanda does not have the capacity to process asylum claims fairly. The ECHR ruling is a major setback for the government, which has been trying to reduce the number of asylum seekers coming to the UK. The government has said that the Rwanda scheme is part of a "new approach" to asylum and that it will deter people from making dangerous journeys across the Channel. However, critics of the scheme say that it is inhumane and that it will not deter people from seeking asylum in the UK. The government is now expected to appeal the ECHR ruling. It is unclear when the first deportation flights to Rwanda will be able to take off.