The Home Office has detained the first set of migrants for deportation to Rwanda, with flights set to take off at the beginning of July.
A week after Rishi Sunak’s controversial Safety of Rwanda Bill gained royal assent, the government said the first phase of detentions was underway for deportation flights.
James Cleverly said enforcement teams are working “at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here” as part of the “pioneering” scheme.
The home secretary said: “This is a complex piece of work, but we remain absolutely committed to operationalising the policy, to stop the boats and break the business model of people smuggling gangs.”
Home Office enforcement director Eddy Montgomery added: “Our specialist operational teams are highly trained and fully equipped to carry out the necessary enforcement activity at pace and in the safest way possible.
“It is vital that operational detail is kept to a minimum, to protect colleagues involved and those being detained, as well as ensuring we can deliver this large-scale operation as quickly as possible.”
The Home Office said a series of operations took place across the country this week, with more activity due to be carried out in the coming weeks.
Officials have not yet said how many people have been detained, or where they were taken into custody.
