RWANDA BATTLE GOES TO THE WIRE

MINISTERS BRACED FOR LEGAL CHALLENGES FROM ALL SEVEN PASSENGERS ON MIGRANT FLIGHT

- Martin Bentham, Nicholas Cecil and Rachael Burford

MINISTERS were today bracing themselves for the first Rwanda deportation flight to potentially be left with no passengers amid new legal battles and a row over the morality of the policy of exporting asylum-seekers. Only seven migrants were still scheduled this morning to be on tonight's privately-operated flight to Kigali following the removal of dozens of others after legal challenges.

Three of the remaining passengers were lodging further claims today to block their deportation, bringing the potential number of departures down to four. But Home Office sources said they expected all the others to make last-ditch claims too using modern slavery laws and other legislation.

They admitted that the Government was preparing for the flight to be left with no migrants to carry. "They'll all make claims," the source added. "We are working really hard to overcome these barriers, but the way the system is, the bar is so low for a claim. There's a good chance there will be nobody left on the flight."