The first flight to deport migrants to Rwanda was halted after European human rights judges intervened for 11 hours.
The European Court of Human Rights granted an urgent order to one of the asylum seekers to withdraw him from the flight, a few hours after the UK Supreme Court had rejected his request.
The remaining six migrants facing deportation also obtained similar court orders and the £ 300,000 charter flight Boeing 747, which was waiting at the RAF Boscombe Down in Wiltshire to take them to Rwanda, landed.
It could mean that all deportation flights to Rwanda will be stopped for weeks until a judicial review, scheduled for the end of July, decides whether the policy is legal.
It also raises the possibility that ministers may reconsider adherence to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to ensure that the scheme can move forward.
“European judges based this on the fact that the Supreme Court, the High Court and the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the Government. It’s scary, “said a government source.
Interior Minister Priti Patel said she was “disappointed” and “very surprised” by the European courts’ intervention despite “the previous repeated success in our national courts”.
He vowed not to be “dissuaded from doing the right thing,” he said, “Preparing for the next flight begins now.”
More than 130 migrants had originally been selected for deportation to Rwanda, but only seven remained until Tuesday morning after the rest successfully filed appeals against their deportation, alleging violations of their human right to family life. or who have been victims of modern slavery. .
The United Kingdom has continued to be a signatory to the ECHR, which is controlled by the European court even though it has left the EU. However, on Tuesday, Boris Johnson warned that he would change the laws if necessary to curb legal challenges and left open the possibility of abandoning the convention.
When asked on a visit to Staffordshire whether the UK should leave the ECHR to avoid the kind of legal battle it has waged over Rwanda, Johnson said lawyers were “very good at picking up ways to try to the government maintains what we believe is a sensible law. “
He added: “Will we need to change some laws to help us as we move forward? That may be the case and all of these options are under constant review. “
Speaking at the start of the Cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister had also accused lawyers of “favoring the work of criminal gangs” by blocking a policy to deter migrants from making dangerous and unnecessary journeys through the Canal facilitated by traffickers. people. More than 400 crossed the Canal on Tuesday.