Rishi Sunak has shaken hands on a £1,000 bet with Piers Morgan that Rwanda deportation flights will take place before the next general election.
The broadcaster said he did not think the plan to send asylum seekers on a one-way ticket to the east African nation would get off the ground before the election, which is expected in the autumn.
During an interview with the Prime Minister on TalkTV, Mr Morgan said: “I’ll bet you £1,000 to a refugee charity you don’t get anybody on those planes before the election. Will you take that bet?”
Mr Sunak replied: “I want to get the people on the planes. Of course I want to get the people on the planes.”
The pair then shook hands on the bet over the Rwanda plan.
Mr Sunak has previously set the target of sending asylum seekers who arrive in the UK via unauthorised routes to the African nation by spring.
But the policy has so far been grounded by legal challenges that resulted in the Supreme Court last year ruling it was unlawful.
The Prime Minister is attempting to revive the scheme with a new treaty with Kigali and his Rwanda Bill deeming the country as safe.
Mr Sunak made stopping small boats crossing the English Channel one of his top five priorities for his premiership.
