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A lawyer who attended a protest outside the Interior Ministry said there was “justified anger” at the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Hundreds of demonstrators took part in a demonstration outside the Home Office in Westminster on Monday.
Lauren Chaplin, 28, who works as a lawyer in London, attended the protest and called the government’s controversial policy “violent and repressive”.
“There was clear and just anger at the government’s violent and repressive policies, but also a lot of energy,” Ms Chaplin told the PA news agency.
“Everyone at the protest really cares about building a better future.
“Everyone was in high spirits as speakers ended (with) dance music, with organizers telling people to stay safe and hydrated – but tensions were high as the crowd dispersed due to the heavy attendance policewoman.
“There were chants addressed to the police, including ‘Who do you serve? Who are you protecting? »
Ms Chaplin said there was a crowd of around 300 protesters outside the Home Office building on Marsham Street, but the exact number was “difficult to assess”.
Hours earlier, Court of Appeal judges rejected a last legal attempt to block the first flight due to the relocation of asylum seekers to Rwanda as part of government policy.
The first flight is set to take off on Tuesday after three Court of Appeal judges upheld a High Court ruling last week that the controversial removals could go ahead, rejecting an appeal from two refugee charities and the Union of public and commercial services (PCS).
“The decision of the Court of Appeal is a huge disappointment and I hope that the illegality of this scheme will be recognized by the Supreme Court,” Ms Chaplin said.
“As a lawyer, I deeply believe in the rule of law, but where the courts maintain immoral and repressive policies that put the world’s most vulnerable in direct danger, you have to ask yourself – where does that leave us? it as a society?
Join today’s protest outside the Home Office with @NadiaWhittomeMP and @_OliviaBlake in opposition to the government’s disgusting and inhuman policy of deportation flights to Rwanda.
We need the biggest possible movement against the intensified conservative environment. pic.twitter.com/jXrpY6lT1H
— Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) June 13, 2022
The policy has been strongly condemned by opposition parties, while some conservatives also remain deeply unhappy with the plan.
Among the protesters outside the Home Office were a number of Labor MPs, including Richard Burgon, MP for Leeds East, Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Streatham.
Former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn gave a speech condemning the plan.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government had anticipated “a lot of teething problems” with the policy, but said the move was needed to stop the illegal trafficking of people across the Channel.
