160 charities and campaign groups condemn UK government's ‘shamefully cruel’ migrant plans

'Sending people seeking asylum to Rwanda will cause immense suffering, with the most vulnerable people bearing the brunt'

Charities and campaign groups have called on the Government to scrap plans to send asylum seekers who cross the English Channel in small boats to Rwanda (Gareth Fuller/PA)

More than 160 charities and campaign groups have called on the British government to scrap “shamefully cruel” plans to send asylum seekers who cross the English Channel in small boats to Rwanda.

Boris Johnson has insisted his scheme to detain and fly migrants more than 4,000 miles to East Africa at the expense of the taxpayer is not “draconian and lacking in compassion”.