The first flight of refugees from the UK to Rwanda was cancelled after a legal battle. The Home Secretary said she was disappointed but would not be deterred.

A legal challenge to a flight from Wiltshire to Rwanda has failed after the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg intervened in the last minute calling for the seven passengers to be removed from the plane. This followed after a legal challenge to the recent High Court ruling on Monday.

The ECHR granted an urgent interim measure in the case of an Iraqi man, but judges in London had found no immediate risk to those being sent to Rwanda.

The plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was brought crashing down by the European Court of Human Rights, but the policy is not dead yet. A UK High Court judge has ruled that the policy is lawful, but a full review is due next month.

Ms Patel said the European court’s intervention was “surprising” and that the government’s legal team were reviewing every decision made on the flight. The government’s policy has been criticised by charities and the Church of England.