Government will 'get cracking straight away' with Rwanda migrant flights after legal verdict: Dowden

The government is ready to ‘get cracking straight away’ with sending Channel migrants to Rwanda as soon as it wins the legal battle over the plan, a senior minister said today. 

Oliver Dowden insisted the plan to send thousands of boat arrivals to Africa was legal and would be cleared by the Court of Appeal.

Hearings are due to take place in April with a ruling due to follow shortly afterwards.

Mr Dowden, the Cabinet Office Minister, told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: ‘The reason why we haven’t been able to proceed with Rwanda is because it’s currently before the courts. We actually succeeded at the High Court stage, it’s before the Court of Appeal.

‘But as soon as that process is through – and I’m confident our policy is lawful – we will get cracking straight away with the Rwanda policy and use that as a tool in our armoury.’

Asked about the prospect of children being covered by the new immigration regime, Mr Dowden said: ‘I don’t relish any of this and I really wish we didn’t have to do it, and the Government isn’t running to do this. The Government is doing this because this is a major problem.’

Her defiant stance comes in the wake of the row over Gary Lineker likening the Government’s language over the small boats crisis in the Channel to that of 1930s Germany.

Yesterday the Match Of The Day presenter returned to BBC screens after winning a power battle with the Corporation.

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