Refugee data analysis casts doubt on Boris Johnson’s Rwanda claim

People arrive in Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel. Boris Johnson had claimed ‘tens of thousands’ of migrants could be sent to Rwanda. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Fewer than 200 people who came to the UK without authorisation would have been sent to Rwanda last year, analysis of government figures has found.

The Refugee Council said 172 people could have been sent to the east African country had a deal been in place. It estimates that this year the number is not likely to be much higher.