At least 40 migrants including a small child and a man 'in handcuffs' arrive in Dover after crossing the Channel - as Priti Patel's plan to ship migrants to Rwanda gets underway this week
- The group was escorted to the harbour in Kent shortly after 3.30pm on a cutter
- Boris Johnson has said he wants the first flight to leave by the end of the month
- But six legal challenges mean the whole scheme may never get off the ground
At least 40 migrants have crossed the English Channel and arrived in Dover by small boat today.
The group, which included several women and at least one child, was escorted to the harbour in Kent shortly after 3.30pm on Border Force cutter Speedwell.
According to Sky News, one man was seen in handcuffs as he was led along the gangway for processing by UK officials.
Other migrants, including a child, covered their faces as they were escorted off the boat by soldiers dressed in camouflage fatigues and high-vis vests.
While the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is yet to release the official figures, the latest arrivals are thought to bring today's total number of migrant crossings to more than 40.
At least 40 migrants have crossed the English Channel and arrived in Dover by small boat today
The group, which included several women and at least one child, was escorted to the harbour in Kent shortly after 3.30pm on Border Force cutter Speedwell
Other migrants, including a child, covered their faces as they were escorted off the boat by soldiers dressed in camouflage fatigues and high-vis vests
It comes as the first migrants slated for deportation to Rwanda will be told of the decision this week as Priti Patel battles to secure her flagship policy in the face of a deluge of legal challenges.
The initial cohort are expected to be single men who crossed the Channel by small boat and who have been deemed to be economic migrants rather than refugees fleeing their homelands for safety.
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Boris Johnson has said he wants the first flight to leave by the end of the month - but six legal challenges mean the whole scheme may never get off the ground.
The number of people chosen initially is likely to be in the dozens to reduce the number of further individual legal challenges.
A group of migrants are brought ashore in Dover, Kent, after crossing the Channel on Friday
Each person will be given a week to provide legal grounds for remaining in the UK, which will be assessed by government lawyers before the formal notification of deportation is sent.
There is intense scepticism that the Prime Minister will meet his deadline for the first flight, with a Home Office source predicting it would be 'a couple of months' before the deportations begin.
'There is a lot to work through and we are doing it for the first time and have to make sure we get it right,' the source told The Times.
'There is a legal process we needed to follow and the priority is to do it properly.'
It came as hundreds more migrants arrived by boat over the weekend, loading more pressure on Ms Patel to get the scheme up and running.
Latest figures show that 169 would-be refugees crossed the Channel in 11 separate dinghies on Saturday, following 116 on Friday.
Priti Patel and Boris Johnson have blamed 'liberal lawyers' for delaying the start of the Rwanda programme
It takes the total for May to more than 1,000 as people-smuggling gangs took advantage of a spell of calm weather in the Dover straits, after stormy seas meant that no boats could set sail for 11 days at the end of April.
The Government had wanted flights to Kigali to start by the end of May under the £120million deal it secured with the Kagame government last month.
Under the partnership agreement, people arriving in the UK, including by crossing the Channel in small boats, will be flown 4,000 miles to East Africa if they are deemed to have travelled illegally for economic reasons rather than asylum.
Mr Johnson has blamed 'liberal lawyers' for delaying the start of the scheme.
The Home Secretary shakes hands with Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Birutaare after signing the migration agreement at a joint news conference in Kigali
Last week two asylum seekers who came to Britain in the backs of lorries this year instructed lawyers to bring a legal challenge against the policy.
A 11-day break in crossings in recent weeks was cited by some supporters of the scheme that it was already having a deterrence effect, but experts insisted it was purely due to poor weather.
The MoD took over control of migrant operations in the Channel in April, when the Government also announced its Rwanda deal.
'It's the wrong plan, in the wrong place': Furious residents say they fear for their safety amid outrage over Priti Patel's 'Guantanamo-on-Ouse' plan to house 1,500 asylum seekers in sleepy Yorkshire village
By Charlotte McLaughlin for MailOnline
Villagers who face being outnumbered two to one by asylum seekers say they are still in the dark about Priti Patel's plans for a new processing centre they fear will destroy their community.
Residents in Linton-on-Ouse, which contains just 700 registered voters, have been stunned by plans to house more than 1,500 refugees at the former RAF airbase in the middle of the village.
They also speak of their concern over the lack of facilities where one shop sells mainly newspapers, there is no police presence and a 'failing' sewage system.
Speaking to the MailOnline residents also said it was the 'wrong plan in the wrong place' which will see hundreds of 'young men roaming around the village' and blamed Priti Patel for trying to turn their home into France's 'Calais Jungle'.
The news comes as the government's new asylum seekers policy will see people flown 4,000 miles away to Rwanda to have their claims processed following a £120 million deal with the African country.
Villagers are also backing the local council who is set to mount a legal challenge against the plan that will see locals 'outnumbered' two-to-one and has already instructed lawyers to prepare arguments.
The North Yorkshire village of Linton-on-Ouse. The community of around 700 could be joined by as many as 1,500 asylum seekers housed in a reception centre in a former RAF base
Villagers such as Linda Scarbro (left) and Peter Baritt (right) are concerned by the plan to house 1,500 asylum seekers. Mrs Scarbro, 68, pictured, said the plan has come out 'as a bolt from the blue' while Mr Baritt says the former RAF base should be 'returned to agriculture
Linda Scarbro, 68, a retired librarian now a volunteer guide at local historical sites, said it is 'not NIMBY-ism' and said Britain is very welcoming to those in need but said it was 'the wrong plan, in the wrong place'.
She explained: 'There has been no consultation. It has come as a bolt from the blue.
'The first I knew about it was when it was announced on the local radio. The parish council knew nothing about it, nor did the District Council.
'The key people from the village arranged a public meeting. Only a few people from the Home Office came and they declined to attend the second meeting.
'I do not care about their race or religion. It is the fact you will have 1,500 young men roaming around the village and I don't know what they are going to do.
'They are free to come and go. The Home Office cannot detain them and the airfield is not secure.'
Kathryn Dryden, 60, a villager for ten years, said: 'It is lack of consultation. It is the process of what the Home Office are trying to do which we consider at unlawful at this point.'
The only shop in the village, mainly sells newspapers, and is located just a one minute walk from the former RAF base
Villagers also speak of their concern over the lack of facilities where one shop sells mainly newspapers, there is no police presence and a 'failing' sewage system if the asylum seekers are put in the former RAF base, pictured
Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, who is considering legal options, previously said he would 'push for these plans to be stopped'.
Following a community meeting, Mr Hollinrake added: 'This is not a secure facility and having such a large volume of young men being housed in Linton-on-Ouse is completely wrong.'
A Home Office spokesman said: 'The asylum reception centre at Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire, will help end our reliance on expensive hotels which are costing the taxpayer £4.7 million a day.
'We are consulting with local stakeholders about the use of the site.
'The New Plan for Immigration will fix this broken asylum system, allowing us to support those in genuine need while preventing abuse of the system and deterring illegal entry to the UK.'
Linton-On-Ouse is located near Leeds, York and Harrogate in the north of England
The local council is set to mount a legal challenge against the plan and has already instructed lawyers to prepare arguments
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