Labour pledges to speed up deportations of failed asylum seekers as the party looks to flesh out an alternative to the Rwanda plan

Labour last night promised a new drive to deport failed asylum seekers as it tried to flesh out an alternative to the Government’s Rwanda scheme.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper set out proposals to create a new ‘returns and enforcement unit’ to swiftly remove failed asylum seekers and foreign national offenders.

The new unit, which will have funding to employ 1,000 staff, will focus on speeding up removals to countries deemed safe.

But a Tory source said the plan was an attempt by Labour to ‘deflect attention’ from the party’s opposition to the Rwanda scheme, designed to deport Channel migrants to the east African country within days of their arrival in the UK, which returns to the Commons tonight.

The source pointed out that the Government is already sending home thousands of arrivals from safe countries such as Albania – and that Labour has no plan to deter arrivals from countries like Afghanistan and Iraq which are deemed too dangerous to return people to.

Labour last night promised a new drive to deport failed asylum seekers as it tried to flesh out an alternative to the Government’s Rwanda scheme (file image)

Ministers will tonight seek to overturn a string of amendments passed in the Lords with the support of Labour peers.

Labour is expected to oppose the Government again, with Sir Keir Starmer pledging to scrap the Rwanda scheme, even if it is shown to be working.

Downing Street has said it hopes to conduct the first deportation flights ‘in the spring’.

Last night it emerged Rwanda has insisted on receiving groups of migrants in ‘stages’ – but stopped short of requesting a cap on numbers. 

A British Government source told The Times: ‘The Rwandans want to ensure everything is working smoothly before they take more.’