UK deportation flight to Rwanda can go ahead, court of appeal rules

It means tomorrow's deportation flight can go ahead

The court of appeal has ruled that a controversial deportation flight to Rwanda due to take off on Tuesday evening can go ahead, following an appeal. Lawyers acting on behalf of the asylum seekers had appealed a decision made on Friday that saw Justice Swift refuse to grant interim relief - a move that would have prevented the removal of several refugees currently detained by the Home Office. Campaigners were seeking an urgent injunction to stop Tuesday's scheduled flight, and prevent any other similar flights until the full case could be heard later this year. On Monday, the government were facing two last-minute legal challenges to block the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda. The PCS union, which represents Border Force staff, had been appealing a decision made on Friday for the flight to go ahead, while the charity Asylum Aid were mounting a separate attempt. According to the charity Care4Calais, the number of people on Tuesday’s flight has now been cut down to eight, after campaign groups successfully organised challenges to the 31 deportations scheduled by the Home Office. Downing Street have said there are no plans to cancel a deportation flight to Rwanda tomorrow, even if there is only one person on board. Related Links

• EXCL: UK's first Rwanda deportation flight confirmed for Tuesday evening
• Prince Charles brands Rwanda deportation scheme 'appalling'
• Rwanda deportation will fly even if there’s only one passenger on plane, Downing Street confirms