- Interior Ministry sources expressed confidence that Rwandan policy would work
Rishi Sunak’s hopes of finally getting Rwanda deportation flights off the ground could be undermined by the “mass” flight of migrants, Tory critics claimed last night.
They raised the alarm that the entire policy could be sabotaged by the simple disappearance of illegal migrants before being flown to the East African country.
The allegations come as even the Home Office’s private guidance appears to raise fears of an increased risk of illegal migrants on bail disappearing and avoiding detection.
Interior Ministry sources last night expressed confidence that Rwanda’s policy would work.
Rishi Sunak’s plan for Rwanda could be sabotaged by illegal migrants simply disappearing before being flown to the East African country, critics say.
A leaked Home Office document seen by the Department of Health warned of “problems in the bail process which will increase leaks (sic) and hamper search efforts”. Staff members board plane to transport migrants to Rwanda
The row erupted amid expectations that Rwanda’s much-delayed security bill, paving the way for sending migrants from the Channel to Africa, would finally become law this week. Ministers sought to blame Labor for the delay and dash the Prime Minister’s hopes that flights would be operational “by spring”.
However, some senior Conservative MPs – including former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick – have repeatedly warned that the current bill contains too many loopholes to be effective.
And a leaked Home Office document seen by the Department of Health warns of “problems in the bail process which will increase leaks (sic) and hamper tracing efforts”. Marked “Official – Sensitive” and dating from last year, it warned that even if a migrant was released on bail at one address, “operational pressures and non-compliant behavior” could limit the information collected on individuals.
Some senior Tory MPs – including former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick (pictured) – have repeatedly warned that the current bill contains too many loopholes to be effective.
He said that even if a fleeing migrant was “referred to immigration authorities to be located”, there was a risk that “the capacity to trace people would be overwhelmed by demand”.
He adds: “The time between losing contact with individuals and initiating efforts to locate them can be long. The less time a person has spent in the UK, the smaller their footprint.
Conservative MP Paul Bristow said it would be “a real shame if migrants could flee en masse and undermine this policy”.
Sources close to Home Secretary James Cleverly have slammed critics who “have a vested interest in this bill failing – otherwise they are wrong”, adding: “And they are as worried as Labor are that this is happening.”
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