Johnson puts Navy in charge of Channel as he defends Rwanda migration plan
The Prime Minister accepted the plans to fly some asylum seekers more than 4,000 miles to East Africa will face legal challenges.

Boris Johnson has put the Navy in command of the English Channel, as he defended a multimillion-pound scheme to send some asylum seekers who make the crossing in small boats to Rwanda.
The Prime Minister conceded on Thursday that he expects plans to detain and fly migrants more than 4,000 miles on chartered planes to the East African country to be challenged in the courts.
But after widespread criticism from opposition MPs and refugee charities he denied the expected removal of thousands of people in the coming years at the expense of the taxpayer is ādraconian and lacking in compassionā.
Mr Johnson deflected repeated questions about the fine he has received for breaching his own coronavirus laws as he set out his migration plans in a speech in Kent.
He said the Royal Navy would from Thursday take over āoperational commandā from Border Force in the Channel to ensure āno boat makes it to the UK undetectedā.
Around 250 to 300 military personnel will be dedicated to police migrants in the English Channel on busy days, it is understood. They will work on ships and aircraft and will include Army personnel, freeing up Border Force staff for processing.
An initial £120 million is expected to be given to the Rwandan government under an economic deal, with Home Secretary Priti Patel striking an agreement during a visit to the capital Kigali.
She said that the āvast majorityā of those who arrive in the UK āillegallyā will be detained and considered for relocation to Rwanda but declined to share specific details after it was reported it would only apply to male migrants.
The number of people who can be relocated will be āunlimitedā, with the first due to receive formal notifications within weeks, and the first flights expected to take place in the coming months.
Mr Johnson said the agreement is āuncappedā and Rwanda will have the ācapacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years aheadā, including those who have arrived āillegallyā since the start of the year.
He pledged Ā£50 million in new funding for boats, aerial surveillance and military personnel to help ensure the measures are a āvery considerable deterrentā to crossings.
And he said the individuals who succeed in making it to the UK āwill be taken not to hotels at vast public expenseā and instead will be housed in Greek-style detention centres, with the first opening āshortlyā.
Labour accused the Prime Minister of trying to distract from the partygate scandal with the āunworkable, unethical and extortionateā migration scheme.
Charities condemned them as ācruel and nastyā plans that will fail to address the issue and cause more āsuffering and chaosā, while criticising Rwandaās human rights track record.
Mr Johnson said the partnership will be āfully compliant with our international legal obligationsā, while insisting Rwanda is āone of the safest countries in the worldā and is āglobally recognised for its record of welcoming and integrating migrantsā.
āBut nevertheless, we expect this will be challenged in the courts,ā Mr Johnson added, as he hit out at what he called a āformidable army of politically motivated lawyersā.
He said they have āmade it their business to thwart removals and frustrate the Governmentā and have caused the UK to be āseen as a soft touch for illegal migration by some of our partnersā.
āSo I know this system will not take effect overnight,ā Mr Johnson added.
Changes to domestic laws will be made to prevent ārepeated unmeritorious legal claims often strung out over many yearsā, the Government said.
Mr Johnson said there is a ārisk of stereotypingā and told critics ānot to think in a blinkered way about Rwandaā.
āRwanda has totally transformed over the last few decades, itās a very, very different country from what it was,ā he said.
Meanwhile, fresh arrivals reached the shore in Dover on Thursday, in what officials acknowledged was a busy day for crossings. It is thought the total number of migrants to have arrived on small boats so far this year has passed 5,000.
Mr Johnson accepted the measure is not a āmagic bulletā that will solve the crossings alone.
But he hopes it will break the business model of the āvile people smugglersā who risk turning the Channel into a āwatery graveyardā.
The Prime Minister also conceded that the controversial āpushbackā technique considered against migrant boats would be dangerous except in āextremely limited circumstancesā.
He said the Government would continue to press Paris and the EU for a ācomprehensive returns agreement that would solve this problemā after Brexit.
The first of the stricter reception centres is expected to open within weeks at former RAF barracks in North Yorkshire.
It is thought the asylum seekers will be encouraged to relocate and rebuild their lives in Rwanda, rather than the UK, with more information on how the arrangement will work anticipated in the coming days.
British Red Cross executive director Zoe Abrams said the humanitarian network was āprofoundly concernedā about the plans to āsend traumatised people halfway round the world to Rwandaā.
āThe financial and human cost will be considerable ā evidence from where offshoring has been implemented elsewhere shows it leads to profound human suffering, plus the bill that taxpayers will be asked to foot is likely to be huge,ā she added.
āWe are not convinced this drastic measure will deter desperate people from attempting to cross the Channel either. People come here for reasons we can all understand, like wanting to be reunited with loved ones, or because they speak the language. Making it harsher may do little to stop them risking their lives.ā
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, urged the Government to āimmediately rethink its plansā.
āWe are appalled by the Governmentās cruel and nasty decision to send those seeking sanctuary in our country to Rwanda,ā he said.
āOffshoring the UKās asylum system will do absolutely nothing to address the reasons why people take perilous journeys to find safety in the UK.
āIt will do little to deter them from coming to this country, but only lead to more human suffering and chaos ā at a huge expense of an estimated Ā£1.4 billion a year.ā
But the Home Office questioned the figure, with a source saying it was āludicrous to suggest costs would be more than the current systemā.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called the plans āunworkableā, āextortionateā and an attempt to distract from Mr Johnson being fined for breaching his own coronavirus laws.
The deal with Rwanda comes after other locations touted ā including Ascension Island, Albania and Gibraltar ā were rejected, at times angrily by the countries suggested.