Rwanda plan on hold until general election

No deportation flights to Rwanda will take off before the 4 July general election, Rishi Sunak has said, but he vowed that the scheme would go ahead if he is re-elected.

Embarking on a whistle-stop tour of England, Scotland and Wales on his first day of election campaigning, the prime minister said flights to the Rwandan capital, Kigali, would go ahead "in July", adding "that's the choice at this election". 

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Sunak emphasised that preparations were still under way, with "airfields on stand-by" and caseworkers "churning through everything". "If I'm re-elected as your prime minister, those flights will go to Rwanda," he said.

His announcement "casts the policy as central to the political race", said Al Jazeera, in an election where "immigration is expected to be a prominent issue".

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the move was proof that Sunak "doesn't believe this plan will work, and that's why he called the election now in the desperate hope that he won't be found out". The Rwanda scheme is "a con from start to finish", she added.

The delay creates further uncertainty for the asylum seekers already being held in detention, said The Independent. There are fears of "more suicide attempts and hunger strikes", because detainees feel there is "no hope".

The Rwanda deportation plan isn't the only part of the government's agenda that is on hold, said The Guardian. Flagship legislation including plans to phase out smoking and end no-fault evictions have been "left hanging in the balance" and will "probably not be introduced to Parliament before the election".

Other "significant bills to fall by the wayside" include "Martyn's law", named after a victim of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing,, said the Financial Times. 

Sunak previously assured the victim's mother that the bill, which would increase anti-terror measures at UK event venues, would appear in the House before the summer recess, but it is not on a list of laws to be rushed through before Parliament is prorogued at the end of today. "The omission triggered accusations Sunak had gone against his word."