Boris Johnson: Fifty migrants told they will be sent to Rwanda

50 migrants have been told they will be the first to be sent to Rwanda in east Africa under the government’s controversial resettlement policy.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Boris Johnson revealed the figure and said he expected plenty of legal opposition but insisted the government would “dig in” on the fight.

Under a new deal, people who entered the UK illegally must now be flown to Rwanda for resettlement.

The policy has been widely criticized.

Her critics include more than 160 charities, the Archbishop of Canterbury, opposition parties and senior Conservative Party backbenchers, including former Prime Minister Theresa May.

Together they have raised questions about the ethics, legality, cost and effectiveness of the policy.

Aid agencies have reported that several asylum seekers in the UK have gone into hiding fearing they will be sent to Rwanda.

The threat of deportation has also prompted some to harm themselves, with one attempting suicide, the Red Cross and Refugee Council said.

However, small boat crossings continued. The latest available government figures show that 792 migrants arrived in small boats in the week of May 2-8.

Earlier this week, the Interior Ministry said it plans to notify the first migrants it plans to take to Rwanda. Among them would be people who had crossed the Channel, the department said.

In his interview, Mr Johnson said that 50 “letters of intent” had now been issued. This marks the first phase of the process.

These individuals have between seven and 14 days to raise an objection.

The plans are widely expected to be legally challenged. Home Secretary Priti Patel said it would mean the process would “take time” but insisted she would not be deterred.

Mr Johnson told the Mail: “There will be a lot of legal opposition from the types of companies that have long been taking taxpayers’ money to run these types of cases and thwart the will of the people, the will of Parliament. We are prepared for that.

“We’re going to throw ourselves into the fight and make it work,” he added. “We have a huge flowchart of things we need to do to deal with this, with Leftie’s attorneys.”

The new directive follows a sharp rise in the number of small boat crossings across the English Channel, with more than 6,000 people having crossed so far this year.

Home Office figures suggest 28,526 people made the crossing in 2021, up from 8,466 the year before.

The Government says the new system will deal a major blow to people smugglers and stop people dying on dangerous routes into the UK.

Ms Patel insists the policy’s critics themselves have “no answers” to the problem of dangerous small boat crossings.