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    State pension to rise 10 per cent next year with return of triple lock despite warnings on pay

    Retirees are set to see pensions rise by 10 per cent next year – despite the government insisting public sector workers receive below-inflation pay rises.The government confirmed the state pension triple lock will return next year, meaning it will rise by inflation, average earnings or 2.5 per cent, whichever is highest.Pensioners will see double-digit payments increases in April next year as the state pension will be determined based on September’s CPI inflation – which is expected to be 10 per cent.This could bring a boost of almost £1,000 a year to retirees.The triple lock was introduced by the coalition government in 2010 help give pensioners a decent minimum level of income which would keep pace with growth in workers’ earnings.The wages measure within the triple lock was temporarily suspended for a year during the Covid-19 pandemic but it is now being reinstated.Downing Street has defended restoring the pensions triple lock, which will see the benefit rise in line with inflation, at a time when the government is arguing against wages keeping pace with rising prices.Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab on Wednesday told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “They (pensioners) are particularly vulnerable and they are disproportionately affected by the increase in energy costs which we know everyone is facing.”The government had committed £37bn to help people cope with rising costs, he said, but “at the same time we have got to stop making the problem worse by fuelling pay demands that will only see inflation stay higher for longer and that only hurts the poorest the worst”.Asked why state pensions will rise with inflation but not public sector pay, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “Pensioners, particularly those who receive state pensions, are disproportionately impacted by high energy costs.“They can’t always increase their incomes through work and they are more vulnerable to cost-of-living pressures”. More

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    Children ‘self-harming due to UK’s cost of living crisis’

    Britain’s children are suffering a mental health emergency, with rising numbers self-harming and having suicidal thoughts because of the cost of living crisis, a report claims.Researchers found millions of youngsters are “at breaking point”, with stress and anxiety among children reaching “alarming” levels because of the effect of rising bills.Children are so worried that nearly one in 10 (9 per cent) has started self-harming, and 8 per cent have shown suicidal tendencies, according to the study.At least half (53 per cent) of people questioned by researchers said they knew someone who had taken their own lives, had attempted it or had thought about it.A nine-year-old girl told the study team: “Your emotions just drown you and the only emotion that’s left is sad.”A seven-year-old said: “When I feel hungry, I ask my mother if we have any food and then she’ll tell me if there’s enough money or not. If there isn’t, I just go in the cupboards and see if there’s something and if there’s a snack, then I’ll just eat it and try to go to bed. Tomorrow she might have some more money.”The Childhood Trust, a London child poverty charity, said the persistent anxiety for both their own and their parents’ wellbeing, as well as a lack of basics such as food and toiletries, was taking a “highly emotional toll” on children and had long-term impacts on their mental health.The trust collected data from a national survey, other London charities, and interviews with parents and children living in poverty to compile the report. In all, 2,002 adults were interviewed, of whom 1,468 were parents.Nearly half of the parents questioned – 47 per cent – said their children were stressed out about the cost of living.A third said their children had raised concerns about it and a quarter said they needed to sacrifice fun activities to afford essentials.One in five parents – 21 per cent – said their children smile less now.Children already in poverty before the Covid pandemic feel unable to further burden their already stressed parents with their own worries, the trust said.Nine out of 10 London charities questioned said the financial situation of their most vulnerable clients had worsened in the past six months.Some 85 per cent of charities predicted more demand for their services due to food poverty over the next six months.Laurence Guinness, chief executive of the Childhood Trust, said: “Ever-increasing numbers of children are going hungry and can’t sleep at night because they’re worried and anxious about their futures.“It’s only thanks to the generosity of donors and the thousands of charities supporting children that we aren’t facing a humanitarian crisis on our own doorsteps.”The government says eight million of the most vulnerable UK households will benefit from a new £15bn package of targeted support, worth at least £1,200 this year, including a new one-off £650 cost-of-living payment.The October discount on energy bills has been doubled as part of a £37bn support package, and universal credit claimants are being allowed to keep £1,000 more of what they earn, the Treasury says.Last month chancellor Rishi Sunak also announced a £500m increase in the Household Support Fund, extending it from October until March next year.If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. More

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    Rail strikes ‘will cost Covid-hit tourism and leisure industry £1bn’

    Experts have warned the government that next week’s rail strikes could devastate Britain’s post-Covid recovery and cost key industries over a billion pounds.The tourism and leisure industry has already been severely impacted after pandemic lockdowns and would take a “big hit”, said Kate Nicholls, chief executive of industry group UK Hospitality.It comes after the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) confirmed industrial action would go ahead on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, although disruption is possible for the rest of the week.According to the RMT, next week’s planned strike action will be “the biggest dispute on the network since 1989” and will involve 40,000 workers.Speaking to Times Radio, Ms Nicholls said: “At the best, we think it’s going to take a hit to hospitality revenues of over half a billion pounds.“But that presupposes that many people will travel on those shoulder days when the trains and the Tubes will still be disrupted – it could be more significant than that.“And if you look across the whole tourism, and leisure and theatre industries as a whole, you are definitely looking at an economic hit of over a billion pounds.”Strikes on Network Rail and 13 other train operators are expected on three days next week, while London Underground workers will walk out on Tuesday.During the strikes, only 22 per cent of passenger train services will run, with most of them on key links to and from London.Coach services have seen a spike in bookings as a result of the planned strike. Stagecoach, the country’s biggest bus and coach operator said that next week’s bookings for its Megabus service rose by 85 per cent.Ms Nicholls said tourism and hospitality businesses had already been damaged by the cost of living crisis and urged the government, rail networks and the RMT to reach an agreement.“Next week’s strikes are so devastating because… we were starting to get back on our feet, starting to rebuild those cash reserves,” she said.“This is a big hit next week where we will lose the best part of a week’s income for many of those town centre, and particularly central London, businesses.“We would urge all sides in this dispute to try and come together to resolve this issue so that we don’t put commuters, visitors, tourists at a disadvantage and we don’t damage our businesses.”Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “With the upcoming train strikes fast approaching, many people will be wondering what to do if they bought a ticket and have now had their train cancelled.“If you can’t travel and you have an unused ticket, you should be able to cancel and get a fee-free refund.“A full refund also applies if you have started your journey but are unable to complete it due to delay or cancellations, and so have returned to your departure point.” More

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    Boris Johnson defends ‘draconian’ plan to use electronic tags on asylum seekers

    Boris Johnson has defended “draconian” Home Office plans to use electronic tags on asylum seekers arriving in Britain across the Channel on small boats or in lorries. Despite campaigners warning that the policy would see people who have fled conflict treated as “criminals”, the prime minister said it was essential that people could not simply “vanish” after arriving in the UK.Mr Johnson also insisted that the government would press ahead with its contentious policy of deporting some asylum seekers to Rwanda, after ministers were forced to abandon the scheme’s inaugural flight on Tuesday evening when last-minute legal injunctions were issued following an intervention by the European Court of Human Rights.The Home Office said that the 12-month tagging pilot – which will apply to adults who have travelled to the UK via “unnecessary and dangerous routes” – will test whether the scheme helps to maintain regular contact with asylum claimants, and whether it results in their claims being processed more efficiently. It will also collect data on how many people abscond. If the conditions are breached, asylum seekers may be considered for detention and removal, become subject to administrative arrest, or be prosecuted. Those tagged will have to report in person to the authorities on a regular basis, and may be subject to other conditions, such as a curfew or an “inclusion or exclusion zone”, meaning they are banned from leaving or entering specified areas. Failure to comply could see them returned to detention or prosecuted.Defending the plans on Saturday, Mr Johnson said: “This is a very, very generous, welcoming country. Quite right, too. I am proud of it, but when people come here illegally, when they break the law, it is important that we make that distinction.“That is what we are doing with our Rwanda policy. That is what we are doing with making sure that asylum seekers can’t just vanish into the rest of the country.”He spoke after it was revealed that the pilot scheme – branded “draconian and punitive” by critics – had begun to be implemented on Thursday.On a visit to Wakefield, ahead of next week’s crucial by-election, the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the prime minister of “chasing headlines” with the policy.“What I want is a serious response, because nobody wants these journeys across the Channel to be made, these perilous journeys,” he said.“Everybody wants to clamp down on the gangs. That requires grown-up work with the French authorities, and upstream work to actually tackle these gangs. You don’t do that if you’re a government that is asking the National Crime Agency to make cuts.”Speaking to reporters at RAF Brize Norton after returning from an unannounced visit to Kyiv, Mr Johnson also said that ministers remain confident that the policy of deporting aslyum seekers is lawful.Earlier this week, the government was forced to abandon the first £500,000 taxpayer-funded flight to Rwanda just minutes before it was scheduled to depart, after a handful of migrants were granted a legal reprieve. Fewer than ten asylum seekers were due to board the aircraft.Mr Johnson said: “Every single court in this country said that there was no obstacle that they could see. No court in this country ruled the policy unlawful – which was very, very encouraging.“There was this weird last-minute hiccup we had with Strasbourg. Let’s see where we get with that. I have read some interesting legal commentary about that. But we are very confident in the lawfulness of what we are doing, and we are going to pursue the policy.”On Wednesday, Priti Patel, the home secretary, said officials at the Home Office were already working on plans for the next flight, but the government has declined to give a time frame. More

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    Refugees to be electronically tagged and prosecuted if they don’t comply under ‘draconian’ Home Office plan

    Refugees who cross the Channel in small boats to reach the UK are set to be electronically tagged – and prosecuted if they fail to comply – under Home Office plans.Campaigners and experts have accused ministers of adopting a “draconian and punitive” approach that will see people who have fled conflict and danger treated as “criminals”, and of pushing through the plan despite having “no concrete evidence” that it will improve levels of compliance.A 12-month pilot will see some of those who travel to Britain via what the government terms “unnecessary and dangerous routes” fitted with tags, potentially including those recognised as victims of torture and trafficking, according to new Home Office guidance.If tagging conditions are breached, asylum seekers may be considered for detention and removal, subject to administrative arrest, or prosecuted, the document states.Earlier this week, the government was criticised over its controversial Rwanda deportation plan, with a flight scheduled to deport asylum seekers to central Africa being grounded at the last minute after European judges intervened on human rights grounds.It is understood that some of the 130 asylum seekers who were detained for removal on the flight will be among the first to be fitted with electronic tags, if and when they are released from detention.Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “It’s appalling that this government is intent on treating men, women and children who have fled war, bloodshed and persecution as criminals.“This draconian and punitive approach not only shows no compassion for very vulnerable people; it will also do nothing to deter those who are desperately seeking safety in the UK.”A Home Office spokesperson said: “We will keep as many people in detention as the law allows, but where a court orders that an individual due to be on Tuesday’s flight should be released, we will tag them where appropriate.”The guidance states that those who are tagged will be required to cooperate with any arrangements the Home Office specifies for “detecting and recording by electronic means” their presence at “a location at specified times, during specified periods of time”.It goes on to state that the tag may be accompanied by one or more further conditions, including a curfew or an “inclusion or exclusion zone (requirement to remain within, or not to enter, a specified area)”.Caseworkers will be required to consider a number of factors when deciding whether it is appropriate to tag an individual, including medical evidence suggesting it would cause serious harm to their health, if a claim of torture has been accepted by the Home Office or a court, or if the individual has been recognised as a victim of modern slavery.But the guidance goes on to state that these factors do “not in [themselves] prohibit imposing such a condition”, adding: “In many cases, even where there is some evidence in favour of removing electronic monitoring, on balance it may still be appropriate to maintain electronic monitoring due to other relevant factors.”Dr Monish Bhatia, a lecturer in criminology at Birkbeck University of London who has carried out research into the use of electronic tags on asylum claimants, described the Home Office plan as an “extreme measure”. More

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    Downing Street urges employers to allow staff to work from home during rail strikes

    Downing Street has urged employers to allow staff to work from home during next week’s rail strikes as the transport secretary warned strikers they were risking their jobs because the railway was now competing against remote working and other forms of public and private transport.Half of Britain’s rail lines will be closed on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday when members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Unite walk out over pay, jobs and conditions.A No 10 spokesperson said it was for individuals to decide whether they could get to their workplaces but there were some jobs where home working would not be suitable.“As during the pandemic, it obviously remains sensible for public- and private-sector organisations to offer flexible working arrangements for some jobs,” the spokesperson said.He insisted the government was not “standing by” while the strikes loomed.“I wouldn’t accept that: ministers remain close to the situation and will remain close to the negotiations and discussions,” he said.“Industry is offering daily talks with the unions and that’s what we want the unions to engage with and get back round the table.”He insisted ministers could not intervene in the negotiations, adding: “But what you have seen is us consistently call on the unions to call off the strikes, given the impact it’s going to have on people being able to get to work, kids being able to get to school – some of which will be doing exams – and we think that they will be damaging for the railways.”Transport secretary Grant Shapps issued a plea to those embarking on the three days of walkouts, warning they risked striking themselves out of a job.He said the government planned to introduce legislation to enable the use of agency workers during industrial action “if the strike drags on”.Transport for London (TfL) has strongly encouraged people not to travel on London Underground on Tuesday.Mr Shapps said: “These strikes are not only a bid to derail reforms that are critical to the network’s future, and designed to inflict damage at the worst possible time, they are also an incredible act of self-harm by the union leadership.”“We’re going to endanger the jobs of thousands of rail workers,” he claimed. “It’s alienating its passengers and the freight customers with long and damaging strikes.”In response, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Instead of playing to the gallery for his own personal political ambitions, Mr Shapps needs to act like a pragmatic transport secretary who is willing to meet with the union and help us reach a negotiated settlement.”Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association leader Manuel Cortes said: “Bullyboy tactics will not wash with our union when the truth is our members are fighting for their jobs, pay and for a safe railway fit for the future.”Mr Shapps said season-ticket holders would be paid full compensation on strike days, and he had “moved to help make that an automatic process”. More

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    Four asylum seekers have Rwanda deportation flight appeals rejected

    Four people have had their applications to be removed from the Home Office’s deportation flight to Rwanda rejected by the High Court. The four asylum seekers brought legal challenges to their scheduled flight on Tuesday. Two legal bids to stop the plan failed in the Court of Appeal and the High Court yesterday but individuals could still appeal the decision to put them on the flight. The individuals included one Iranian father, whose son is the UK, a Vietnamese national, an Iranian Kurd whose sister is living in the UK, and another Iranian national. In the first application, an Iranian Kurd – who had suffered PTSD in Turkey while travelling to the UK – asked not to be put on the upcoming flight due to his mental health and his relationship with his sister in the UK.However, in a short ruling on Tuesday morning, Mr Justice Swift refused to grant interim relief.He said: “The Secretary of State was entitled to reach the decisions she did.”The Vietnamese individual also had his application to stop his deportation refused.His lawyers argued that he was told about the decision to deport him to Rwanda in a letter which he could not read. The claimant can only speak Vietnamese and did not understand English. His lawyers said that there was not a translator present when he was given the letter.Goverment lawyers presented witness testimony that said that the individual was given an interpreter to aid him. The judge sided with the government’s evidence and said that the Vietnamese individual had been fairly notified of his deportation.Another asylum seeker applying to be removed from the flight was a Christian convert from Iran.The Iranian and his son are both in the UK but only the father has been scheduled to go to Rwanda.He said that he had during his travels to the UK he was threatened with a knife, constantly abused and witnessed people stabbing each other. He detailed being abused in Greece and said that he received no help from the Greek authorities when he appealed for help.“They made our lives hell, we tried to report it but nobody helped us,” he said.In mental health assessments read out to court, the man was described as “middle-aged man, tearful intermittently and severely anxious.”He was described as “suffering from depression disorder which is of a moderate degree and post traumatic stress disorder.”His son said in a statement that he speaks to his father “in any period that he gets” and “this is the longest period I have been away from him.”His father is currently being held in Colnbrook detention centre.In the final application for removal, the High Court heard that the claimant, an Iranian man who spoke Sorani Kurdish, should not be deported to Rwanda because there would be no one there who spoke his language. A mental health assessment of the man, read out to court, found that he experiences “voices, apparently psychotic symptoms, voices calling his name.”A psychiatrist found that the man had “profound symptoms indicating of anxiety and depressive disorder” and was “at increased risk of self half due to his isolation and potential impulsivity.”Home Office laywers testified however that he could get access to health services in Rwanda and that he would be provided with a phone and access to the internet. This, they said, would allow him to access the translation services Big Word if he needed help communicating. Justice Swift rejected the man’s application to be removed from the flight, saying: “I accept that the fact of removal to Rwanda will be distressing for this claimant, it will be a further step in a long journey that this claimant has already undertaken.”Foreign secretary Liz Truss vowed on Tuesday morning that anyone pulled from the flight would be “on the next flight”. She defended the government’s decision, saying: “Our policy is completely legal, it’s completely moral.” More

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    Rwanda migrants — latest: Torture victim to be deported as passengers ‘cut to 8’

    ‘No Rwanda’ protests staged at immigration removal centre ahead of first deportation flightA victim of torture is still scheduled to be deported to Rwanda tomorrow despite the number of passengers being slimmed down by successful appeals, a barrister told the Court of Appeal today. Raza Hussain QC, representing two people at risk of removal and three organisations challenging the policy, read out a Home Office communique to court which said that his client’s deportation should still go ahead because “Rwanda has a functioning healthcare system.”“I have just received the news that his removal is going to be maintained… it appears that torture has been considered but the removal hasn’t been deferred,” he added. The number of people on Tuesday’s flight has now been cut down to eight, according to campaign group Care4Calais. The Home Office’s plan is facing two legal challenges today. The PCS union, which represents Border Force staff, is appealing a decision made on Friday for the flight to go ahead tomorrow. The charity Asylum Aid is also mounting another attempt to stop the flight. Judges at the Court of Appeal heard today that the UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, was concerned about “deficiencies” in Rwanda’s immigration process and warned the government not to pursue the plan.Show latest update

    1655131630Injunction sought against Rwanda flight to give more time to assess it’s legality in court A charity is appealing to the High Court for an injunction on the Home Office’s deportation flight to Rwanda so that more time can be given for the asylum seekers to access justice. Barrister Charlotte Kilroy QC, who led the charity Asylum Aid’s legal team, asked Mr Justice Swift to impose an “urgent interim” injunction – to give time for the charity’s claim to be fully argued.“The claimant is applying for an urgent interim order that the defendant be prohibited from enforcing the removal of any asylum-seeker to Rwanda pursuant to ‘safe third country’ decisions taken under the new arrangements the defendant has adopted … pending the outcome of this claim,” she said in a written case outline.Ms Kilroy added: “Without interim relief there is … a real risk that individuals will be unlawfully removed to Rwanda without access to court and may suffer irreparable damage as a result.“Given the nature of the decisions taken, in a context where only the highest standards of fairness will suffice and fundamental rights … are in issue, the Claimant submits that the balance of convenience lies strongly in favour of the grant of the interim relief it seeks.”Holly Bancroft13 June 2022 15:471655130549Demonstration planned outside the Home Office at 5:30pmProtesters are expected to gather outside the Home Office at 5pm today to call on the government to halt their deportation flight to Rwanda. Ali Jones, an organiser of the demonstration from SOAS Detainee Support, said: “Immigration detention and deportations are always cruel and unjust, but forcibly and permanently deporting people to a country they have never been to – away from their families and communities – is plain torturous.”Zrinka Bralo, chief executive director of Migrants Organise, said: “We have had enough. The Rwanda sham is the latest cruel expansion of Britain’s Hostile Environment immigration system.”Holly Bancroft13 June 2022 15:291655129774‘Errors’ in Home Office letters to asylum seekers ‘mischaracterised’ the UN’s role in RwandaErrors made by the Home Office in letters to asylum seekers “mischaracterised” the UN refugee agency’s role in Rwanda, lawyers have told the Court of Appeal. Raza Husain QC told the court that UNHCR’s position had been “erroneously understood” by the government. With regards to claims that UNHCR can oversee Rwanda’s asylum process, the secretary of state Priti Patel had said: “The UNHCR is closely involved with the NEDP, and will provide oversight of individuals relocated from the UK.”However Mr Husain said “well with great respect, no they won’t”. He told the court that this has now been accepted as incorrect and the Home Office have issued an apology. The Home Office said “this was an error of a misreading of the [UN] report”.Mr Husain added that the UNHCR’s own evidence said that they could not “monitor the quality of decision making” of the Rwandan authorities. “Over the past years UNHCR has not been permitted to observe the refugee status determination committee and information on the asylum case is not shared systematically by the UNHCR by the Rwandan authorities” they said. Holly Bancroft13 June 2022 15:161655127944Campaigners ‘hopeful’ flight will be scrapped – as passenger numbers cut to eightCare4Calais saying they are “very hopeful” that the Rwanda flight will have to be cancelled through a series of individual challenges.The campaign group told The Independent that only eight people were still on flight list after more successful challenges. Activists are hoping to get a lawyer for the last person without legal representation this afternoon.Care4Calais founder Claire Mosely said: “We’ll have to fight every single case individually. We’re very hopeful all of them will be removed from the flight list by tomorrow.”She added: “We don’t want the Home Office to be able to deport anyone to Rwanda until the full court case in July – how can they deport people before it’s been determined if the policy is unlawful?”Adam Forrest13 June 2022 14:451655127583Two more Rwanda flight passengers have their tickets cancelledTwo more people who were scheduled to be on the deportation flight to Rwanda have had their tickets cancelled, according to campaign group Care4Calais. They shared the news on Twitter, saying: “Two more Rwanda deportees have had their tickets cancelled. Twenty three people have now had their Rwanda tickets cancelled. Eight still have live tickets for tomorrow.”Holly Bancroft13 June 2022 14:391655127383Second challenge to Home Office Rwanda deportation begins A charity has begun another legal challenge to a Government plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.Asylum Aid have asked a High Court judge to temporarily block ministers from enforcing the removal of “any asylum seeker” to Rwanda.Lawyers for the charity argued the procedure adopted by the Government was unfair.Mr Justice Swift is considering the challenge at a High Court hearing in London.Lawyers representing Home Secretary Priti Patel say Asylum Aid’s application should be dismissed.Press Association13 June 2022 14:361655124582Number of passengers on Rwanda flight ‘cut down to 10’The number of people scheduled to be on the flight to Rwanda tomorrow has been cut down to 10, according to campaign group Care4Calais. They tweeted the news saying: “Another Rwanda deportee has had his ticket cancelled. Twenty-one people have now had their Rwanda tickets cancelled, but ten still have live tickets for tomorrow. “Holly Bancroft13 June 2022 13:491655123895Torture victim recalls ‘shock’ of finding out he could be sent to RwandaA young Sudanese man has spoken to campaign group Care4Calais about the shock he felt when he found out he is scheduled to be sent to Rwanda. “They showed me the letter saying I would be sent to Rwanda. I felt.. it’s just total shock,” he said. He had travelled to the UK from Calais and said he was there “for 9 months trying to get on lorries.”“People were talking about Rwanda [in Calais],” he said, “but I never thought it would be true, and you know as we don’t have TV there, and I wasn’t really familiar with the internet, we don’t really have proper news.”The 23-year-old spoke about how he had to run away from Sudan as a teenager after he fell in love with a girl and got her pregnant to the anger of her family. As she was from a different tribe, which was seen as higher to his, her family were outraged at what had happened and “came after me to attack me,” he said. He moved from Sudan to Chad and then to Libya. “I was seized and held three months by a militia, being beaten and tortured with electricity and fire, morning to night,” he said. “It left marks all over my body. They demanded that my family send money, but I told them, my family didn’t have that sort of money. So instead they just made me work for them.”Eventually he managed to escape and to cross in a boat to Malta. After nine months in detention in Malta, he got in a lorry to Genoa, and then on to Marseille and then to Calais. Speaking about potentially being sent to Rwanda, he said: “My feeling is shock that after all the time I had spent travelling, just hoping to find somewhere safe I could have a normal life, and thinking I would find a safe place, that they would just send me back again.”Holly Bancroft13 June 2022 13:381655122330Rwanda flight challenges are just ‘teething problems’, says Johnson Boris Johnson has said that his government’s policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is experiencing “teething problems”. Mr Johnson was responding to questions to a number of legal challenges to stop the Home Office’s deportation flight to Rwanda tomorrow. He said: “When we announced the policy, I always said that it would begin with a lot of teething problems and you have a lot of legal action against it. And they will try and delay it, that’s inevitable.”He added: “What we’re trying to do is stop the business model of criminal gangs who are preying on people, moving them across the Channel in unseaworthy vessels, risking their lives and sometimes costing their lives. But it’s worse than that, what they’re doing is undermining people’s confidence in legal migration and people’s support for legal migration.” More