蜜芽传媒

The UK government will begin deporting people seeking asylum to Rwanda as part of what it calls a "world-leading" partnership with the east African nation.

The government has argued the current asylum system is broken and urgent steps are needed to tackle people-smuggling gangs.

The first flight taking asylum seekers to Rwanda will take off on Tuesday 14 June, and people who are not removed on Tuesday will be on subsequent flights, the UK's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said.

She said it would "establish the principle" and break people traffickers' business models.

Seven or eight people are due to be removed on Tuesday, after dozens won legal cases to be taken off. More legal challenges are due to be heard.

A last-ditch attempt to block the flight altogether was rejected by the UK's Court of Appeal on Monday.

Sonya Sceats is from the campaign group Freedom From Torture. Her group is supporting a legal challenge to the new policy.

She told Newsday: "It is lamentable that people fleeing problems like torture are presented with no other option really, but to take these dangerous routes. We work at Freedom from Torture with many survivors of torture who've had to take their lives in their hands in this way, but the reason they are doing this is because this government has been comprehensively shutting down safe passage ways for these people. And the idea that this is going to put a stop to the business model of the smuggles is fanciful."

(Photo: Woman holds a placard saying 'Fleeing danger should not be illegal' during protest outside UK 蜜芽传媒 Office on June 14, 2022. Credit: Leon Neal / Getty Images)

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