Rishi Sunak quietly secured a major breakthrough in his battle against illegal immigration this week, after the UK finally deported its first-ever asylum seeker to Rwanda.
This evening The Sun has reported that the first ever flight set off on Monday evening, with the migrant now landed and settled in Kigali, the country’s capital.
The report says the unnamed migrant lost a bid to stay in Britain at the end of 2023, with the individual voluntarily accepting removal to Rwanda.
While the surprise news may provide Mr Sunak with a boost ahead of the local elections, the deportation was not forced as part of the government’s flagship plans set to come into force later this summer.
The man, of African origin, voluntarily accepted the deportation deal, and was deported on a commercial flight and handed around £3,000 from the taxpayer to help him relocate and settle.
Sources told the paper that the first-ever removal has been dubbed a “proof of concept” success, with “sighs of relief” in Whitehall.
A source added: “This proves it’s possible and legal for Britain to remove failed asylum seekers to Rwanda successfully and smoothly”.
The Government is hoping that forced deportation flights, enabled by the passage of new legislation last week, will begin in 10-12 weeks.
The Home Office has been approached for comment.
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