Minister warns Home Office already preparing next Rwanda flight - but refuses to give timetable

Despite last minute legal reprieve granted to asylum seekers, Therese Coffey ‘highly confident’ next flight will go ahead

(Getty Images)

A cabinet minister has insisted the Home Office is preparing the next flight to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda — but declined to say whether it would take place within days or weeks after a major setback.

The comments from Therese Coffey came after the government’s inaugural £500,000 taxpayer-funded flight was halted just minutes before its scheduled departure on Tuesday evening, with a handful of migrants winning a legal reprieve.

Around four asylum seekers were due to board the aircraft, but last minute appeals were granted by an out-of-hours European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judge, in a blow to the government.