Priti Patel may be forced to release migrants from detention if the first Rwanda charter flight is blocked by a series of legal challenges today.
Up to 130 foreign nationals who have been told they have been selected for the inaugural flight on Tuesday have been held in immigration detention centres to prevent them absconding.
But if legal action in the High Court is successful, even temporarily, they are likely to be freed and either fitted with electronic tags or ordered to regularly attend reporting centres.
Existing laws set out how foreign nationals can only be detained if there is a ‘realistic prospect’ of removing them from this country.
A coalition of charities and a trade union – which represents thousands of UK Border Force staff – has applied for an injunction to halt the flight. They are also seeking a judicial review of the policy in a case due for a preliminary hearing today.
