- author, Ruth Comerford
- role, BBC News
The government announced that the two remaining migrants in custody awaiting deportation to Rwanda were expected to be released on bail in the coming days.
A spokesman for the Home Secretary also revealed that a further 218 migrants had been released on bail from detention centres by the previous government during the election campaign.
They were due to be deported to the east-central African country as part of former Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s tackling illegal immigration.
On his first day in office, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged that the Rwanda deportation plot was “now over”.
Speaking at his first press conference since moving into No 10, the Prime Minister told reporters the scheme had “never been a deterrent” because it only deported “less than 1%” of people who arrived on small boats.
Scores of asylum seekers have been detained since late April after Chancellor Rishi Sunak said flights would depart in the first weeks of July.
Under the Conservative government, the Home Office refused to confirm the number of people detained in Rwanda.
The BBC now understands that a total of 220 people have been detained under the plan with a view to being deported to Rwanda.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she wanted to recruit a new “Border Force Commander” over the summer and include a new border security bill in the King’s first speech.
A spokesman for the interior ministry said Rwanda’s plan was an “outrageous ploy”.
“If the former prime minister believed it would work, he would not have called an election before the plane had even departed.”
“During the election campaign, the previous government released on bail 218 people who were being held awaiting extradition to Rwanda. At present, only two remain in custody. They too are expected to be released on bail soon.”
He also confirmed that plans were underway to strengthen the National Crime Agency’s capacity to pursue human trafficking gangs.
The financial impact of scrapping the Rwanda plan and the total cost to taxpayers are not yet known.
The fate of around 52,000 Channel migrants who remain in the UK and are subject to deportation remains in question.
Labour’s manifesto promised to curb small boat traffic across the Channel by hiring investigators and using counter-terrorism powers to “disrupt” criminal smuggling rings.
The new administration has made combating illegal immigration one of its main priorities, but has yet to reveal its full plans.
