Nigel Farage shares fears for Rwanda plan as first flight takes off: ‘I doubt they can deliver!’
Nigel Farage has shed doubt on Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plan after the first-ever failed asylum seeker was reportedly flown to the country on Tuesday.
In what was described as a successful “proof of concept” flight, the migrant was successfully deported to Rwanda and handed the volunteer’s payment of £3,000.
A source told the Sun that the successful first flight proves “it is possible and legal for Britain to remove failed asylum seekers to Rwanda successfully and smoothly”.
Speaking to GB News, presenter and former Brexit Party MEP Nigel Farage said the Conservatives are a party in “desperate trouble”, and the news of the flight taking off is merely a “communications operation” from the Home Office.
Offering his thoughts on the flight, Nigel told GB News host Tom Harwood: “This is somebody who illegally came to Britain, wasn’t granted asylum, which is unusual of itself, and then given £3,000 of taxpayers money to voluntarily board a plane to Rwanda.
“They’ll be able to live for five years without rent. And in a country where three grand goes a long way.”
Highlighting that the original plan for the Rwanda Bill was set up “two years ago by Boris Johnson”, Nigel said the Tories are now in “dire trouble”.
Noting the general election, Nigel said: “Perhaps this coming general election may see the worst results ever in their nearly 200 years of existence.”
However, Nigel praised the efforts of the Government to begin detaining those migrants destined for the deportation flights, admitting we should “give them credit for it”, but it is “several years too late”.
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Nigel told GB News: “Sunak knows this issue of people illegally crossing our borders and being allowed to stay is driving voters, particularly the Red wall, mad.
“So the fact that today they’ve started rounding up a few people illegally and detaining them, on the face of it, you have to give them credit for, I mean, several years too late.”
He continued: “The problem is, I suspect this is where the problems are just beginning. We will see all sorts of other people on that list simply disappear off into the community and be virtually impossible to find.
“And for those that we do have in detention and plan to take to Rwanda, that is when the lawyers and the judges will kick in.”
Criticising the UK’s ties to the European Convention on Human Rights, Nigel predicted that if legal obstacles tried to prevent the flights, British judges will “rule in favour of our international agreement”.
Nigel explained: “We’ve incorporated it into British law by the Human Rights Act and whatever the Rwanda Act says in terms of it taking supremacy over the Human Rights Act.
“I would tell you that when this comes to court, British judges will rule in favour of our international agreement.
“So it’s all well and good sounding, but can you actually deliver? I still really, really doubt it.”