The first asylum seekers could be flown from the UK to Rwanda by the Summer, as the Home Secretary confirmed there was "every possibility that we can move quickly."
Speaking in the Rwandan capital Kigali on her first official visit as Home Secretary, Suella Braverman also warned that the government could still leave the ECHR (European Court of Human Rights) if it proved impossible to move forward with the plan to tackle the small boats crisis.
The Home Secretary will meet the Rwandan President Paul Kagame today, after spending Saturday touring a new housing development which will become longer term accommodation for those asylum seekers relocated to the Central African nation.
The Rwandan government is currently building up to 5,000 homes on the Riverside Estate, on a hilltop overlooking the Capital.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman shakes hands with Rwandan minister for foreign affairs and international co-operation, Vincent Biruta in Kigali
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More than 15,000 people will eventually live on the estate, in properties equipped with gardens, off-street parking and solar panels.
The cheapest houses are priced at the equivalent of £14,000 and will be offered to both asylum seekers and Rwandans.
Rwandan government spokesman Yolande Makolo said those arriving from the UK would initially be housed in hostels and hotels for around 3-6 months while they have their asylum claims processed.
They would then be moved into long-term housing.
Braverman travelled to Rwanda on Saturday
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Makolo said: “We have always been prepared to receive thousands of migrants over the course of this initiative. We've always been ready for that.”
“We are going to be ready to absorb the thousands that will come from the UK along the life of this partnership.”
She added: “We're determined to make this a success.”
Since the partnership was announced by former Home Secretary Priti Patel in April last year, no asylum seeker flights have left the UK for Rwanda, because of multiple legal challenges.
The first asylum seekers could be flown from the UK to Rwanda by the Summer, as the Home Secretary confirmed there was "every possibility that we can move quickly."
PA
The High Court ruled in December that the plan was lawful but granted some of the parties who lost the chance to appeal. That hearing at the Court of Appeal is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
The Home Secretary said: "We're working to make this happen as soon as possible, and there is every possibility that we can move quickly too, if we get a good line of judgement in our favour."
However, if the plan remains stuck in legal challenges, she warned "nothing is off the table" indicating the Government would consider a withdrawal from the ECHR.
She told reporters there are “serious issues with the balance that’s currently being struck” with the Strasbourg court.
Braverman believes the first asylum seekers could be flown from the UK to Rwanda by the Summer
PA
Braverman was speaking after a meeting with the Rwandan Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Vincent Biruta.
The pair signed an update to the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Rwanda, ensuring that the vast majority of those who enter the UK illegally from a safe third country, would then be eligible to be sent to Rwanda to have their claims processed there.
The deal has been criticised by opposition parties in the UK and by human rights charities, who claim the plan is cruel and would infringe the basic freedoms of those sent to Rwanda.
Yolande Makolo has hit back at critics, stating: "I do not consider living in Rwanda a punishment."
She said her country was a vibrant, fast-growing economy, with many opportunities for those who move there.
