Priti Patel has told the House of Commons the Government will press ahead with its plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda despite an 11th-hour legal ruling by a European court which halted the first departure.
A flight holding seven migrants was due to leave on Tuesday evening but was halted at the last minute following an injunction by the European Court on Human Rights.
"We believe that we are fully compliant with our domestic and international obligations, and preparations for our future flights and the next flights have already begun," she told MPs.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper branded the Rwanda policy a "shambles” saying “This is not and never has been a serious policy”.