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UK Migrant Flight to Rwanda Grounded As European Court Steps In

INTERNATIONAL: Britain's first flight to take asylum seekers to Rwanda was pulled at the eleventh hour on Tuesday 14th June after the European Court of Human Rights issued injunctions to stop the deportation of the handful of migrants on board, a government source said.

The first migrants due to be deported by Britain to Rwanda were thought to have arrived at an air base in south west England on Tuesday 14th June.

The flight carrying asylum seekers is scheduled to depart later in the evening from the Boscombe Down military base in Wiltshire.

The British government has warned that anyone who avoids being deported through last-minute legal challenges would be put on a later plane, despite an outcry from critics.

Meanwhile, The European Court of Human Rights has issued an order to prevent the deportation of one of the individuals, the charity Care4Calais said.

With just hours to go before the flight was due to depart, lawyers for human rights groups and campaigners took their case to the Supreme Court, only for the judge to reject it.

However, several individuals have successfully argued that they should not be deported to Rwanda on health or human rights grounds, meaning the numbers due to depart have dwindled from an original 37 to just 7. Other legal challenges were ongoing.

Britain has struck a 120-million-pound ($148 million) deal with Rwanda to send some migrants, who had arrived by crossing the English Channel in small boats from Europe, to live in the East African country.

Britain's first flight to take asylum seekers to Rwanda was pulled at the eleventh hour on Tuesday (June 14) after the European Court of Human Rights issued injunctions to stop the deportation of the handful of migrants on board, a government source said.

The British government's plan to send some migrants to the East African country has been criticized by opponents, charities, and religious leaders who say it is inhumane.

London argues that deporting migrants who arrived illegally by crossing the English Channel in small boats from Europe would deter the dangerous journeys and smash the business model of people-smuggling networks.

In the last few days, at least 30 individuals scheduled to be on the first flight successfully argued that they should not be deported to Rwanda on health or human rights grounds.

Just a handful were due to fly from an air force base in southwest England on Tuesday but, hours before the plane was due to leave, the European court which rules on possible human rights violations granted injunctions to prevent their deportations.



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