'People will find even more dangerous ways to come'

Holly Bancroft speaks to a teenager who crossed the Channel in a dinghy and whose father was almost deported to Rwanda

- Holly Bancroft

The son of an asylum seeker who was on the government's failed Rwanda flight last summer has said the policy will not stop people from crossing the Channel.

Ali*, whose father was due to be deported on the first flight and was one of the claimants in the December legal challenge, said that the government was not interested in understanding why people like his father made the perilous journey across the Channel.

"This law is not reasonable," he said. "It can't stop people from crossing the Channel, but they will try more dangerous ways which will be worse."

The plan to deport migrants to Rwanda was ruled lawful in December but judges said that the government had not "properly considered" the cases of eight asylum seekers who were put on the flight to Kigali.

Asylum seekers and a charity were yesterday granted permission to appeal the High Court's finding. "I think it's really unfair to judge and decide for people who have been surviving from so many dangers. The government didn't even ask and check why they are here and crossed the Channel," he added.