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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Ninian Wilson

Protesters block vans taking migrants to airport for Rwanda flight

Protesters are blocking vans from leaving for the airport

PROTESTERS are blocking the street outside of an immigration removal centre where migrants are set to be put on a flight to Rwanda.

The activists are laying on the street outside of Colnbrook IRC to block vans with migrants destined for Gatwick Airport and are appealing for more people to join them.

The Stop Deportations Twitter page has been reporting on the demonstration and has warned anyone looking to join the protest of the high police presence.

They wrote: “URGENT CALL OUT: we need more people down at Colnbrook IRC to support the activists who are blockading vans taking people to the first Rwanda deportation flight.

“Together we can resist this brutal regime!!”

The first flight as part of Priti Patel’s scheme to send migrants to Rwanda is due to leave on Tuesday following the Government’s victory in their court battle over the policy.

The scheme has been widely criticised across the political spectrum, with one report claiming that Prince Charles privately said the policy was “appalling”.

However, Boris Johnson said earlier on Tuesday that the Government will not be “deterred” or “abashed” by the public response to the policy.

Commenting, one of the activists attending the protest said: “We, the public refuse to accept the Home Office's cruel, inhumane and unlawful plans. As the courts continue to be complicit with the violent border regime, the only way to resist this systematic racial oppression is continuing to show up and take to the streets.

"We demand that the Rwanda Asylum plan is scrapped and will continue to take to the streets until this demand is met.

"No one should be on this flight. No one should be deported under such racist and discriminatory policies. It's clear we cannot trust the courts to give us true justice and prevent this racist, fascist deportation, so that's why we have taken action. No deportations, not to Rwanda or anywhere else."

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