British troops could be ordered to help operate migrant deportation flights to Rwanda after the Government left the door open to the use of the Armed Forces in the asylum scheme.
Ministers are hoping to start flights within weeks of the Safety of Rwanda Bill – which aims to overcome previous legal objections to the policy – becoming law, which is expected to happen in days.
But they have not yet confirmed whether the Government will use charter planes hired from commercial airlines or rely on the RAF.
The Government has also resisted pressure to exempt refugees who have previously worked with the UK military from being deported to Rwanda if they enter Britain illegally.
Richard Foord, the Liberal Democrats’ defence spokesman, has called on Defence Secretary Grant Shapps to guarantee that individual members of the Armed Forces are not ordered to take part in the scheme.
He wrote in a letter: “This latest news troubles those serving and former RAF service personnel who may be ordered to break faith with those alongside whom they served. I ask that you rule out, categorically, the prospect that service personnel will be forced to take part in deportation flights. They serve no military purpose. The Government must show our service people and veterans the respect they deserve.”
Mr Foord told i: “A government that respects the military covenant would never order our service people to betray the trust of those who served with us. To use our Armed Forces in this way is an insult. I am calling for the Government to be transparent about their plans; it’s the very least the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces deserve.”
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on whether troops could be ordered to help with the deportation flights. Asked about the issue last week, Mr Shapps said: “We will do whatever we need to do to make sure that we can get these flights off, whether they are charter flights or other kinds of flights.”
The House of Commons and House of Lords have been at loggerheads over a proposed amendment to the bill which would state that anyone who has worked with the Armed Forces abroad and subsequently enters the UK illegally cannot be sent to Rwanda.
Government sources said that there were already “safe and legal routes” for such people to apply for asylum in Britain without having to use illegal methods to enter the country such as crossing the English Channel in a small boat. They also warned that introducing exemptions to the deportation scheme would undermine its effectiveness as a deterrent for those considering travelling to the UK.
Rishi Sunak has scrapped a previous promise to get flights started by the end of the spring following repeated delays to the Safety of Rwanda Bill.
