Boris Johnson hit back today after Prince Charles was claimed to have branded his Rwanda asylum plan “appalling”.
The Prime Minister at first dodged answering whether the Prince of Wales was “wrong” in alleged private comments about the policy to force asylum seekers onto a 5,000 mile charter flight.
But he pointedly said “most people” could see criminal gangs “need to be stopped”.
And asked a final time directly if the Prince of Wales was wrong, he replied: “I’ve answered that in the sense that I do think it’s the job of government to stop people breaking the law and to support people who are doing the right thing.
“That’s what we’re doing.”
Mr Johnson, who was himself fined for breaking Covid laws two months ago, was being questioned as lawyers and campaigners launch a fresh wave of legal challenges against removal flights to Rwanda.
It comes as a divisive Home Office flight to Rwanda tomorrow now faces taking barely 10 asylum seekers - if it takes off at all.
It is thought the number of people due to be on the charter plane has shrunk dramatically after a wave of individual legal challenges.
It was initially reported 130 people could be on the plane. But by last night that had shrunk to just over 10, a government source told the Mirror. The source predicted that, by the time of the next update this morning, the number would be less than 10.
Individual legal challenges relate to human rights and issues like modern slavery. Separately, lawyers for refugees and migrants will launch a Court of Appeal bid today to block tomorrow’s first flight entirely - until a full legal hearing can be held.
They will be “removed” with a one-way ticket almost 5,000 miles away to Rwanda.
Once there they will be barred from claiming asylum in Britain, instead having to ask the east African nation for sanctuary.
Over the weekend reports emerged that Prince Charles had privately branded the policy "appalling" and said he was "more than disappointed" by it.
Clarence House did not confirm or deny he made the remarks, and insisted he "remains politically neutral".
Mr Johnson was questioned by LBC's Nick Ferrari while visiting a farm in Cornwall.
The radio host told the PM: "Prince Charles says the plan is appalling. The Archbishop of Canterbury says it is against the judgment of God. How come you know better than Prince Charles and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Prime Minister?"
Mr Johnson - who previously took a swipe at the Archbishop - said: "Most people can see that the criminal gangs… need to be stopped. That model needs to be frustrated.”
Asked to clarify he was saying the Prince was wrong he replied: "Let me put it this way, Nick. What I don't think that we should support is continued activity by criminal gangs...
“What it does is it undermines everybody who's coming here legally, and it undermines people who support immigration and want people to come here legally and to be integrated property.
“Here on this on this farm, for instance, they are supported by a workforce that comes from all over the all over the world, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, you name it, but they come here legally. They they do it properly. They're not they're not controlled by criminal gangs. And that is what we want to see. All right.”
Asked again later in the interview if Prince Charles was wrong he replied: “I’ve answered that in the sense that I do think it’s the job of government to stop people breaking the law and to support people who are doing the right thing.
“That’s what we’re doing.”
The Prime Minister did not rule out sending tomorrow's flight even if only one person is on it. He replied: "I think it’s very important that the criminal gangs who are putting people’s lives at risk in the Channel understand their business model is being broken by this government.”
He insisted he has “utmost respect for the legal profession” but claimed “very active lawyers” are stopping removals.
The PM added: “We’ve always said we knew this policy would attract the attacks from those who want to have a completely open doors approach to immigration.”
Campaign group Care4Calais tweeted: "Twenty people have had their Rwanda tickets cancelled but 11 still have live tickets for tomorrow. These include four Iranians, two Iraqis, two Albanians and one Syrian.
"We pray that the courts act today to stop this cruel and barbaric plan."
Priti Patel could rip up the Tories’ own modern slavery laws to allow more removal flights to Rwanda in future.
The Home Secretary will appoint an independent reviewer of the system pioneered by her predecessor Theresa May, according to the Mail on Sunday.
When she launched the Modern Slavery Act in 2015, Mrs May said it was “the great human rights issue of our time” adding: “We will make it a national and international mission to rid our world of this barbaric evil.”
But Ms Patel is said to be angry that asylum seekers she wants to force to Rwanda under a new scheme are using it to block their departure.
A Whitehall source told the Mail on Sunday: “Child rapists, people who pose a threat to national security and illegal migrants who have travelled to the UK from safe countries have sought modern slavery referrals, which have prevented and delayed their removal or deportation.
“It is imperative that this system is fixed quickly, and for good.”
A hard-hitting advertising campaign will launch towards the end of this week despite Prince Charles reportedly branding the scheme “appalling” in private.
It is thought to include a photo of a dinghy approaching the white cliffs of Dover with the words: “Arrive illegally in the UK and you could be leaving for Rwanda.”
