Suella Braverman has declined to say when flights to Rwanda could take off, as she appeared to downplay suggestions that the stalled policy of deporting asylum seekers could begin this summer.
The Home Secretary also insisted that ministers were looking at “all sorts of land and sites and vessels” to house asylum seekers in the UK, but refused to say whether the Government was close to signing a deal on a procuring a barge.
Touring broadcast studios on Sunday, Ms Braverman faced questions about the Government’s record on illegal migration.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ms Braverman have said that “stopping the boats” across the Channel is a crucial priority, but campaigners have condemned much of the Government’s response, with the controversial Illegal Migration Bill described as an effective “asylum ban”.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has rejected suggestions that Brexit could be the cause of delays at the Port of Dover as passengers on the Easter getaway faced long queues.
Extra sailings were run overnight to try and clear the backlog, which has left passengers stuck in traffic for hours, but by Sunday morning the port estimated some travellers could still face waits of up to eight hours, depending on the ferry operator.
A port spokesman said: “The additional sailings have assisted in clearing some of the traffic, although currently both DFDS and P&O have two full lanes of coaches in the port before French border controls, with a processing time of about 4.5 hours.
“P&O have some coaches waiting at the cruise terminal and DFDS have some at service stations in Kent.
“Once coaches are processed in an operator’s lane, more are being sent to the port. Currently, the estimated total time is six to eight hours dwell time.”
Source: upday