James Cleverly spent £165,000 chartering plane for one-day round trip to Rwanda

James Cleverly spent £165,561 chartering a private jet for a one-day round trip to Rwanda, the Home Office has revealed, as deportation flights to the central African state remain up in the air.

The Home Secretary chartered the Prime Minister’s plane for him, his officials and selected press to fly to Rwanda to sign the new deal with the African state after the Supreme Court ruled it was an “unsafe” country for migrants.

He travelled on the RAF Voyager plane because of the need to fast-track the signing of a new legally binding treaty on December 4 alongside Rwanda’s foreign affairs minister Vincent Biruta.

It comes as the deportation flights are facing delays into June after the House of Lords inflicted seven defeats on the Government’s Rwanda Bill, pushing back its passage through Parliament until after Easter. Rishi Sunak has said he wants the flights off this spring as part of his key pledge to deter and stop small boat crossings.

Ministers have been accused of dragging their feet for five months after claiming that the Rwanda Bill was emergency legislation that would be fast-tracked through Parliament.

Disclosure of the flight follows claims, denied by the Home Office, that they are struggling to secure a contractor to fly the deported migrants to Rwanda.

Sources have, however, confirmed Home Office officials are in talks with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over the potential use of RAF jets to transport the migrants to Rwanda.

Responding to questions over the flights, a Home Office spokesman said: “We have robust operational plans in place for flights following discussions with a range of commercial companies, and departments are working across Whitehall towards ensuring the first flights leave for Rwanda as soon as possible.”

Mr Cleverly’s flight was disclosed in a transparency document issued by the Home Office. It follows criticism of the Government after spending watchdogs revealed that the cost of sending each of the first 300 asylum seekers to Rwanda would be £1.8 million.

Mr Cleverly was the third home secretary to make his way to Rwanda to sign an agreement, following in the steps of his predecessors Dame Priti Patel and Suella Braverman.

The treaty signed by Mr Cleverly established a new appeal body, to be made up of judges with asylum expertise from a range of countries, to hear individual cases.

The Government said Rwanda’s asylum system would be monitored by an independent committee, whose powers to enforce the treaty would be beefed up. The committee would develop a system which will enable relocated people and their lawyers to lodge complaints.

It is understood that the flight took Mr Cleverly, members of his private office, a small team of civil servants, a photographer, a reporter and a BBC TV crew to Kigali.

Asked about Mr Cleverly’s flight, a Home Office spokesman said: “Stopping the boats is one of our top priorities. The cost of the asylum system could reach up to £11 billion a year by 2026, and we make no apologies for pursuing bold solutions like our partnership with Rwanda to stop the boats and save lives.

“All government spending goes through thorough due diligence to ensure best value for money.”