No deportation flights to Rwanda will take off under a Labor government, Sir Keir Starmer has told Sky News.
The Labor leader told Sky News political editor Beth Rigby “there will be no flights” as it aims to “eliminate the scheme”, which aims to send asylum seekers who enter the UK illegally from a safe country, such as France, to Rwanda.
Earlier in the day, Sir Keir confirmed Labor wanted to get rid of the Conservatives’ flagship scheme to reduce illegal immigration, but a party spokesman said they would not disrupt flights already planned.
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But Sir Keir told Sky News: “There will be no flights. I want to cancel the scheme so that means no flights will take place.
“There will be no flights scheduled or taking off after the general election if the Labor Party wins the general election.
“There are no flights, there is no scheme for Rwanda, it’s a gimmick, it’s very expensive, it won’t work.”
Sir Keir previously announced his plan to combat small boat crossings, which also included a new Border Security Command with “hundreds of specialist investigators”, new counter-terrorism powers to target people smugglers, hopes for a new Europol partnership and a rules-based asylum system.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Sir Keir’s plan “complete hypocrisy” and said everything the Labor leader announced today “are things we are already doing”.
“Overcoming the backlog, getting more police officers to do more, all of that is already happening,” he said.
“We announced all of this more than a year ago. The question for Keir Starmer, if he cares so much about this, is why did he vote against the new laws we passed to give our police officers new powers?
“They have already used this to arrest almost 8,000 people linked to illegal migration, sentencing them to hundreds of years in prison.
“And if it were up to him, all these people would be on our streets, so I think his position is hypocritical.”
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Sir Keir revealed Labour’s plan in a speech in Dover alongside his newest MP, Natalie Elphicke, who defected from the conservatives.
Her defection was met with outrage by some Labor MPs, as she was seen as being to the right of the Conservative Party, especially with her views on immigration.
She also faced criticism for supporting her ex-husband, former Dover MP Charlie Elphicke, after he was convicted of sexually assaulting two women. She has now apologized for supporting him.
Sir Keir said accepting Ms Elphicke into the party shows it has changed and shows how the Conservatives are “no longer the party that can take our country forward”.
Sir Keir said Natalie Elphicke’s defection shows the Conservatives are no longer the party that governs. Photo: PA
Asked if he was ruthless, he said: “Yes, I am ruthless in trying to ensure we have a Labor government that can change this country for the better.
“It’s not cruel to my own ambition, it’s not cruel, particularly to the Labor Party.
“I’m ruthless with the country.”
He added that the only way to bring about change in the UK is “if we are relentless in winning the general election and establishing a public service government”.
The latest poll, carried out by Survation and published on 9 May, shows Labor winning the next general election with a landslide of 486 seats – 45% of the vote, with the Conservatives 19 points behind on 26%.
Averaging the most recent polls from each major pollster, the Labor Party is expected to win with 43.5% of the vote, with the Conservatives getting 23.5% and the Liberal Democrats 9.7%.
Sir Keir said he does not know whether he will be able to win a majority, but he hopes so.
In May 2023, he ruled out any kind of deal with the SNP if they did not win a majority, but he would not rule out a deal with the Liberal Democrats.
On Friday he said: “I rule out any kind of deal with the SNP before or after the election.
“Am I seeking a majority Labor government? Yes I am.
“That depends on us being able to gain the trust of voters across the country.”
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When asked whether he would do a deal with the Liberal Democrats, he again refused to rule out the possibility, saying: “I’m looking for a majority.
“That’s the answer I gave you two years ago, a year ago, it’s the same answer I gave you then.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
