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Join the Traveller Movement and the Electoral Commission for the official launch of Operation Traveller Vote 2024. …

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Roma / Gypsies / Travellers in the United Kingdom

According to the 2011 Census, the number of Gypsy/Traveller/Irish Traveller is 63,200 (0.1 per cent). However, the total population of Roma (a category not used in the Census) and Travellers in the UK is estimated to be at least 200,000 – a reflection in part of obstacles to their participation in official data collection. Estimates have ranged from 120,000 (the Traveller Movement) to 150,000 – 300,000 (the Council of Europe), in part a reflection of different approaches and definitions used.

There are several different communities and ethnic groups. The traditional groups include the UK Irish Travellers, Scots Travellers (Nachins), Welsh Gypsies (Kale) and English Gypsies (Romanichals). Irish Travellers are in Northern Ireland and England.  Some members of the traditional travelling communities now live in static homes.  Subsequent generations have grown up in this setting, although they can still face discrimination on account of their heritage.

More recently, from the 1990s and following the accession of a number of Eastern European states to the European Union in the 2000s, many Roma have left for the UK to escape poverty and discrimination in their home countries.

There are records of Irish Travellers in England in the twelfth century. Laws were passed against them in the fifteenth century. Roma are first recorded as ‘Egyptians’ in England in 1505 but they may have already been there for some time. The Egyptians Act of 1530 banned Gypsies from England. If they did not leave the country their property would be confiscated. In 1554 this was amended to allow Gypsies to stay if they gave up their nomadic lifestyle. If they refused, they would be executed. The earliest known written example of the Romany language with an English translation dates from 1547. This was followed by over 100 Romany words and their English translation in The Winchester Confessions 1615-16 , depositions recorded by the Winchester House of Corrections. Gypsies and Travellers were banned from Scotland on pain of death in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Indo-European origin of the Gypsies, or counterfeit Egyptians as they were sometimes called, was recognized in the eighteenth century. Quaker author John Hoyland showed in his book The Gypsies , published in 1816, that the Roma were heavily discriminated against in Britain. Travellers were included in the 1891 Census. Many performed in travelling shows and some were photographers. The Sussex police kept a detailed record of Gypsy activities from 1898 to 1926.

Nomadic Gypsies and Travellers travelled more in the spring, summer and autumn months when they could get seasonal agricultural work and provide other services to rural communities. They had traditional stopping places on the edges of large towns and cities for the winter. Settled Roma had bought land for their caravans close to cities to work in industry. After the Second World War mechanization in agriculture and the more intensive use of the land forced more nomadic families to marginal land in and around urban areas. The 1960 Caravan Sites Act was directed against private permanent caravan sites, such as those of the Roma.

Local councils were obliged by the 1968 Caravan Sites Act to allocate sites for the Gypsies and Travellers in their area and it became a criminal offence for the travelling community to live on unauthorized sites. This encouraged local authorities to move Travellers on in order to reduce their liability. Conditions attached to the sites they provided included a ban on keeping animals or trading, thus destroying the traditional Traveller way of life and source of income. More sites were set up when central government provided grants for this purpose in 1980. However, in the 1980s the greater numbers of New Age Travellers produced a backlash of opinion in the general public, which resulted in the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. This removed the councils’ duty to provide sites, allowed them to dismantle existing sites, and also gave the police greater powers to impound vehicles and evict people. Gypsies and Travellers were advised to buy land but the majority of their planning applications were rejected.

Lobbying and legal challenges from the Traveller community resulted in central government guidance in 1998 requiring a more sensitive approach from the authorities regarding unauthorized camp sites. Further guidance was issued in 2004 following consultation with Traveller representatives. The 2004 Housing Act required local authorities to adopt a strategy for providing sites for Travellers and Gypsies.

This was, however, watered down by the 2016 Housing and Planning Act which replaced it with a more general duty to assess the need for caravan sites as part of a broader assessment of mainstream housing requirements. This change was preceded by another initiative which is proving to have very negative consequences. In the 2015 Planning Policy for Traveller Sites, the definition of ‘Gypsies’ and ‘Travellers’ was changed, excluding those who have stopped travelling permanently. By 2019, this change had led to a 75 per cent decrease in the number of sites assessed as necessary by local planning authorities; this figure was based on research conducted in a representative sample of 20 randomly selected local planning authorities. Romany Gypsies were recognized as a distinct ethnic group under the 1976 Race Relations Act. Irish Travellers were accorded this status in 2000.

More recently, the communities have been targeted by right-wing political groups. The British National Party promised to evict Travellers in its 2004 local election campaign, and there have been racist attacks on camp sites.

While some improvements to the legal protections of these communities were put in place – the Security of Tenure Bill for Gypsies and Travellers on local authority camp sites was introduced to Parliament in July 2006, and legal reform to give Gypsies and Travellers equal opportunities in Scotland was introduced in 2005 – their situation has remained precarious. In May 2007, families of Travellers lost their High Court case, over plans to move them from their East London site, to make way for the 2012 Olympic village. Some of the families had lived in the area for over two decades. The judge in the case ruled that the Travellers had not had their human rights breached by the decision to move them to new sites elsewhere in London.

Another high-profile incident occurred in October 2011 at Dale Farm, where around 80 families settled without authorization within an established Traveller community were forcibly evicted.

Significant numbers of Roma have migrated to the UK from the 1990s onwards, following the fall of Communism, with others arriving after the accession of various Central and Eastern European countries to the EU in 2004 and 2007.

Contrary to some representations in the media, the majority of Gypsies and Travellers live in permanent housing: 76 per cent, according to the 2011 Census. However, while the majority of the Traveller community live on authorized camp sites, some are based on public or private land, often with little access to basic services. According to the 2017 national caravan count, 16 per cent of Gypsy and Traveller caravans were in unauthorized locations – largely as a result of the lack of authorized sites. This situation, as in the case of the 2011 Dale Farm evictions, can result in tensions between Travellers and surrounding communities as well as local authorities, which argue that these settlements are in violation of planning law and therefore illegal. However, Travellers’ advocates point out that a lack of secure land effectively renders many communities homeless and at constant risk of eviction. The facilities at many sites are inadequate with the result that the Gypsy and Traveller community suffers from poor health. According to the British Medical Association, the community has the lowest life expectancy and highest child mortality rates in the UK. Ofsted has reported low levels of educational achievement and high rates of illiteracy among Traveller children on account of disrupted education and bullying from other children at school.

The lack of authorized sites has been made worse by the 2015 Planning Policy for Traveller Sites, whereby the definition of ‘Gypsies’ and ‘Travellers’ was changed. This excludes those who have stopped travelling permanently. By 2019, this change had led to a 75 per cent decrease in the number of sites assessed as necessary by local planning authorities. The figure was arrived at by studying a representative sample of 20 randomly selected local planning authorities. Only eight authorities sought to meet the needs of Gypsies and Travellers who did not meet the definition contained in the Planning Policy – resulting as the researchers said in a kind of ‘postcode lottery’. Key groups that are left out include the elderly, persons with disabilities and those with serious health conditions, who are no longer travelling but naturally wish to remain within their own communities. The lack of authorised sites also makes it harder for Gypsies and Travellers to continue travelling in order to prove their status.

These issues have only become worse with new legislation that was adopted in 2022. The new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (‘PCSC’) Act. The law makes it a new criminal offence to reside with a vehicle on land without permission; penalties for those found guilty can include up to 3 months’ imprisonment.  The legislation was received with considerable criticism from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community groups along with numerous allies, who stressed that it did not address the underlying issue – namely the lack of authorized camp sites.

Despite broader shifts within the UK on how minority communities are presented, racism against Roma and Travellers remains entrenched, with a 2017 report by the Traveller Movement describing it as ‘the last acceptable racism’. This research found that almost 77 per cent of surveyed Travellers had been the targets of hate speech or hate crime, including discrimination in education and employment, with many as a result choosing to hide their ethnicity.

These inequalities are evident in social disparities across a range of areas. In educational attainment, for example, just 18 per cent of students from Irish Traveller backgrounds and 9 per cent from Roma and Gypsy backgrounds achieved five or more A* – C GCSEs in 2016, compared to 57 per cent of the population as a whole. Unemployment levels, too, are the highest of any ethnic group among Gypsies and Irish Travellers. They also are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system.

Updated September 2022

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Rights of Travellers

There are laws in place that have a direct effect on the lives of Gypsies and Travellers, some which work in their favour and some which do not.

Caravan Sites

Gypsies and Travellers have historically been nomadic, and in recent years they have tended to make caravan sites their homes. This has been allowed, most notably by the Caravan Sites Act 1968, which made all county councils duty-bound to provide caravan sites for Gypsies and Travellers.

However, many county councils didn’t comply with this duty, and the duty was subsequently repealed by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. This act also gave police the power to evict Gypsies and Travellers who park their caravans on other sites without authorisation.

County councils are still allowed to provide special caravan sites for Gypsies and Travellers under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, but not many public authorities do so.

Eviction and security of tenure

Travellers have more protection from eviction than you might think. Legal advice should be sought if needing to evict travellers from your land.

Racism and discrimination

Certain types of Traveller, such as Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers, have successfully proven themselves to be a protected ethnic minority in the past, and as such, have the right to be free from racial harassment and discrimination. This gives Gypsies and Travellers the same protection from discrimination that all other ethnic minorities receive under UK and European human rights law.

There are certain situations in which indirect discrimination against Gypsies or Travellers could be allowed – for instance, if registration with a school or another organisation required applicants to have a fixed address, thereby disqualifying Gypsies and Travellers due to their way of life.

However, this kind of treatment is only acceptable if the organisation has a justification, beyond simply wishing to exclude Travellers.

Human rights to education

Regardless of how they live, Gypsies and Travellers are of course entitled to the same human rights that everyone under the umbrella of the European Convention on Human Rights has.

For instance, young Gypsies and Travellers are as entitled to an education as any other child before school leaving age – in fact, failure by a parent to ensure that their child gets a good education would constitute breaking the law.

However, the law recognises that a regular school education would be very difficult to access for a Traveller, their nomadic lifestyle being inherently incompatible with the idea of settling at a school for an extended period of time.

Most local councils have a Traveller Education Service operating in the area, which works to provide support for Travellers and ensure that their children can get a good education. Like all parents, Gypsies and Travellers also have the option of educating their children themselves, away from school.

However, if the local education authority is not satisfied that the child is receiving an adequate education, they can take action, such as serving a school attendance order (requiring the child to attend a school) or an education supervision order (assigning an education social worker to work with the parent and child, making sure that the child is being educated to a reasonable standard).

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Suggestions

Gypsies and Travellers protection from eviction

Eviction rules depend on whether Gypsies and Travellers are staying on their own land without planning permission, private land or a council site.

Occupation rights for Travellers on their own land

Travellers using their own land as a caravan site without planning permission risk being removed from that land.

Eviction of Travellers from council sites

The powers of local authorities to provide sites for Gypsy and Travellers, and the rights of occupiers of such sites.

Eviction from land not owned by Travellers

The steps different landowners can take to try and remove travellers, including under common law trespass and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act.

Judicial review and human rights defences for Gypsies and Travellers

A Gypsy or Traveller might raise a public law defence against a public authority on conventional judicial review grounds or a breach of human rights.

Local authority duties towards homeless Gypsies and Travellers

Local authorities' duties towards homeless Gypsies and Travellers, and the legal definitions of Gypsies and Travellers.

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The rights of travelling people. Includes your rights to stop legally, park and live in a camp, and how to access services such as healthcare and education.

Information provided applies to England & Wales

Top picks a quality controlled selection of all the best legal information from a wide range of providers hand picked from the best websites by  advicenow, gypsies and travellers.

Gypsies and Travellers have different rights depending on whether they are staying on a council site, an unauthorised site, or a private site. Links to information about when and how gypsies and travellers can be evicted from land they have stopped on. (Content applies to England only.)

Gypsy and Traveller sites

Gypsies and travellers have different rights depending on whether they are staying on a council site, an unauthorised site, or a private site. Information on what these rights are. (Content applies to England only.)

A short guide to the Policing Act 2022

Information for anyone currently living or planning to live roadside on police powers on roadside camps.

Eviction from a site: Gypsy and Traveller communities

There are different eviction rules depending on the type of site you are staying on. Explains the rules in different situations.

Evictions from authorised sites

Guide to eviction for gypsies and travellers, covering evictions from public land, private land and by planning authorities. Includes contact details for the Traveller Advice Team.

Help if you’re homeless: Gypsies and Travellers

Gypsies and travellers are entitled to help from the council if they have nowhere safe and permanent to live. This page looks at your rights in those circumstances. (Content applies to England only.)

Report racism and discrimination

Explains types of hate crime, harassment and discrimination faced by gypsies and travellers, and how this can be challenged in law. Provides case study examples and further contact details for more advice and information.

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New anti-Traveller laws set to criminalise nomadic way of life

The Government has announced new laws that will make trespass with vehicles a criminal offence – in a move that has caused fury among Gypsy and Traveller campaigners.

The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said yesterday, that the new laws will target trespassers “who intend to reside on any private or public land in vehicles without permission, and where they are causing significant disruption, distress or harm to local communities.”

“This new offence will enable the police to fine or arrest those residing without permission on private or public land in vehicles in order to stop significant disruption, distress or harm being caused to the law-abiding majority,” she added.

The new law also gives the police the powers to seize and impound vehicles whose owners fail to comply with the new law and who refuse – or can’t – leave.

Gypsy and Traveller campaigners reacted with fury saying that the new laws were racist.

“You are criminalising a problem that has been created by the failings of a political will to deliver appropriate accommodation,” said Joseph P Jones from the Gypsy Council, in a Facebook comment left on Priti Patel’s Facebook page .

Joseph P Jones also pointed out that to get planning permission to develop their own permanent legal Traveller site, Gypsies and Travellers have to obtain ‘gypsy status’ , the only requirement of which is to prove that they are – and will - continue to travel.

“Travellers are told they have to prove they travel to gain planning permission for their own private sites,” he added.

“But locally, Councils refuse to provide public sites. Well, racism is alive and well in the Home Office. Through political failure. Be proud of your right-wing achievement.”

The Government say that the new offence of criminal trespass will target:

• A person aged 18 or over resides or intends to reside on land without consent of the occupier of the land;
• They have, or intend to have, at least one vehicle with them on the land;
• They have caused or are likely to cause significant damage, disruption or distress;
• Fail to leave the land and remove their property following a request to do so by an occupier of the land, their representative or a constable; or
• Enter or, having left, re-enter the land with an intention of residing there without the consent of the occupier of the land, and with an intention to have at least one vehicle with them, within 12 months of a request to leave and remove their property from an occupier of the land, their representative or a constable.
• Reasonable suspicion that a person has committed this offence confers power on a constable to seize their vehicle/other property for up to three months from the date of seizure or, if criminal proceedings are commenced, until the conclusion of those proceedings.

The new law will affect England and Wales - but not Scotland.

Responding to the news, Abbie Kirkby, Public Affairs and Policy Manager at Friends, Families and Travellers  said :

“The Government seems hell bent on introducing tougher police powers for people living on roadside camps, even though all the evidence is stacking up against them – in their own consultation it is clear that most respondents don’t want tougher powers. The views of the majority of consultation respondents have been ignored, opening the door to a harsh and unfair set of proposals which punish some of the UK’s minority ethnic groups, who already face some of the starkest inequalities.

Our research shows that the majority of police respondents are against the proposals and also that there is a chronic national shortage of places to stop. The Government should not imprison people, fine them and remove their homes for the ‘crime’ of having nowhere to go. Another way is possible. Through negotiated stopping and by identifying land where Traveller sites can be built, councils can ensure nomadic families have a safe place to stop, save money on evictions and improve relations between travelling and settled communities. Everybody needs a place to live.”

Responding to the proposals, Jenny, a Romany Gypsy, said:

“My daughter is trying to get a pitch, but loads of families trying, she’s feeling depressed. Her and her partner don’t know where they’re going to go. It’s not right to criminalise us all. We don’t leave any rubbish, we respect the other residents, we clean up after ourselves, but we’re going to be stopped from travelling. There aren’t enough sites for Travellers. We’re being treated like animals. They’re always building more houses but no more sites. She can’t get a site, she can’t stop on the road. She’s tearful, she’s crying a lot. She just wants to settle down and make a life for herself like anyone else.”

TT EDITORIAL

The laws are pretty much what campaigners were fearing and what was promised in the Conservative manifesto at the last election - the criminalisation of trespass with vehicles.

By focussing on vehicles the Government has side-stepped opposition from ramblers and homeless charities. However that makes the new laws easier to challenge under equalities laws as Romany Gypsies and Irish and Scottish Travellers are protected ethnic groups. We understand that lawyers are already geared up to challenge the new laws.

The surprise is that the number of vehicles needed to trigger the new laws has dropped from the promised two to one. This then brings lots of the new single vehicle 'van-lifers' parking up on private or public land within the scope of the new law.

On the face of it, the new laws are only triggered if the senior police officer attending the camp believes that the camp "has caused or are likely to cause significant damage, disruption or distress."

However, "likely to cause" is open to wide interpretations and the powers, and the resulting seizure of vehicles if the camp refuses to disband, will be reliant on the whims and prejudices of the police officers present - and some police officers are more racist than others...

Mike Doherty/TT News

(Main picture: Stock image from Stow Fair (c) Natasha Quarmby)

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Registered Traveller: faster entry through the UK border

Eligibility.

To apply for Registered Traveller membership, you must be 18 or older and have an eligible passport.

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‘Do not travel’ alert issued after freight train derails on major route between England and Scotland

Problems made worse on northern trains by landslip between newcastle and carlisle, article bookmarked.

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A “do not travel” alert has been issued after a freight train derailed on a major route between England and Scotland .

Services are being cancelled and delayed because of the incident on the West Coast Main Line between Carlisle and Oxenholme Lake District on Wednesday night, National Rail Enquiries added.

Nobody was injured during the derailment half a day later there are still major delays for travellers.

Some lines are blocked and a very limited train service is running on the line that remains open.

Rail companies have warned of knock-on effects for the rest of the day.

Train operators Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express issued the “do not travel” alert, urging passengers not to attempt to use their services for journeys between Preston and Scotland on Thursday.

Ticket holders can delay journeys until Friday or travel with other operators. This includes on LNER services between Edinburgh and London Kings Cross, CrossCountry trains between Edinburgh and Birmingham New Street, TransPennine Express via “any reasonable route”, and ScotRail between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Avanti West Coast said.

The operator told concerned would-be travellers on social media that if they chose not to travel, they could claim refunds.

Avanti West Coast also dismissed reports that trains should run without problem after 2pm, writing on Twitter/X that “we haven’t given a time as to when this disruption is likely to end.”

Network Rail has been approached for a comment. It’s not clear what caused the derailment.

Elsewhere, buses are replacing trains between Newcastle and Hexham and Carlisle, due to a landslip in the Corbridge area, operator Northern said.

In April, train services between Reading and London Paddington were severely disrupted after a frieght train derailed on the line, leading to chaos for commuters at rush hour and causing a major impact on Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express services.

Additional reporting by PA

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UK-Rwanda migrant deal challenges international protection law

Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow at the South African Research Chair in International Law (SARCIL), University of Johannesburg

Disclosure statement

Cristiano d'Orsi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Johannesburg provides support as an endorsing partner of The Conversation AFRICA.

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In late April 2024 the British parliament passed a law – the Safety of Rwanda Act – enabling it to transport migrants arriving in the UK to Rwanda. When the legislation was approved by parliament, there were 52,000 asylum seekers who could potentially be sent to Rwanda.

The law has been condemned by a range of UN actors , human rights lawyers and activists.

As a scholar of international law – with a particular focus on the protection of asylum-seekers, refugees, migrants – one of my biggest concerns is that the UK’s Safety of Rwanda act flouts one of the fundamental principles of international law: the principle of non-refoulement . The principle prohibits countries from transferring or removing people from their jurisdiction or control when there are substantial grounds to believe that they could be at risk of irreparable harm. This includes torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

“Substantial grounds” is determined by the host country. However, international agencies (like UNHCR) can intervene. Courts in the US interpret “substantial grounds” as a situation in which an individual “ is more likely than not ” to be at risk of irreparable harm.

Countries are obliged not to send people to countries where they could suffer harm. If they deserve asylum, refugee status should be granted. Otherwise, they should be provided with an alternative form of protection.

Opponents of the UK’s policy argue that removing asylum-seekers to Rwanda would violate this principle.

A group of human rights experts who advise the UN human rights body have already warned that airlines and aviation authorities could be at risk of violating the law by facilitating removals to Rwanda from the UK. This is because the experts believe asylum seekers could be at risk of being sent into a situation where their basic rights could be in danger.

The principle’s history

In the aftermath of the first (1914-1918) and second (1939-1945) world wars, millions of people fled their homes in search of refuge. In response, the international community steadily assembled a set of guidelines, laws and conventions aimed at protecting the basic human rights and treatment of people forced to flee conflict and persecution.

The process, which began under the League of Nations in 1921, culminated in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees . This provide the most comprehensive codification of the rights of refugees at the international level.

The principle of non-refoulement was first enshrined in the 1951 convention, and has since been recognised by other international legal instruments and treaties:

1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

United Nations Declaration on Territorial Asylum

1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.

The principle has become a customary international norm . This means that all countries – even those that haven’t ratified all these treaties – must respect it.

Enforcing the principle

Both domestic and international courts can deal with cases. So far in Africa, only domestic courts have dealt with the infringement of this principle. In Europe, the European Court of Human Rights has intervened.

If a country is taken to court for violating the principle of non-refoulement and it loses, several consequences can follow:

Court orders and injunctions: The court may issue orders to stop deportations.

For instance, in the 2010s, Israel reached agreements that Rwanda and Uganda would accept Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers deported from Israel. But many asylum seekers deported to Rwanda and Uganda faced further human rights abuses. Many were left without legal status or access to basic services, forcing them into precarious situations. Israeli human rights groups filed petitions against the deportations, leading to several legal battles. In 2018, Israel’s Supreme Court temporarily blocked the deportation plan, demanding more transparency and assurances regarding the safety and rights of the deportees. Under mounting legal and international pressure, Israel eventually suspended its deportation plan in April 2018. The government had to reconsider its policies towards asylum seekers.

Compensation and redress: The country might be ordered to provide compensation to the affected individuals for any harm suffered due to the violation.

For instance, in 2011 the European Court of Human Rights forced Belgium to pay an Afghan asylum seeker €24,900 in damages and €7,350 for costs and expenses. Belgium violated the principle when it sent the asylum seeker back to Greece, knowing about substandard conditions and deficiencies in the Greek asylum system.

Reputational damage: The country may face international criticism and damage to its reputation, affecting its diplomatic relations and standing in the international community.

Sanctions: In some cases, the country might face sanctions or other penalties imposed by international bodies or courts. For instance, in 2021 the EU imposed sanctions on Belarus, partly due to its treatment of asylum seekers and migrants.

Changes to law and policy: The ruling may compel the country to amend its laws and policies to prevent future violations and ensure protection for asylum seekers and refugees.

Scrutiny: The country may come under increased scrutiny from international human rights organisations and monitoring bodies to ensure compliance with the court’s decision.

What this means for the UK-Rwanda deal

In late 2023, the UK Supreme Court found that sending people to Rwanda risked violating international treaties prohibiting refoulement. Part of the ruling read:

The central issue in the present case is [the Rwandan government’s] practical ability to fulfil its assurances, at least in the short term, in the light of the present deficiencies of the Rwandan asylum system, the past and continuing practice of refoulement…

But the UK government ignored the courty’s ruling and pressed ahead with getting the law through parliament. In a bid to manage the negative fallout from the bill, the UK government released a policy statement saying that refoulement would not happen. It said a monitoring committee would ensure compliance with the UK’s international obligations.

The Safety of Rwanda Act provides that the government of Rwanda will not remove anybody who is transferred from the UK to Rwanda, except to send them back to the UK.

The main problem is whether Rwanda’s government will follow through on its promises. There are flaws in the country’s asylum system and changes are needed in how it handles refugees.

For example, refugees in Rwanda face prejudice and discrimination and most are poor. Over 90% live in camps and rely on a meagre cash assistance of 10,000 Rwandan francs (US$7.94) a month to buy food.

Human rights organisations have also pointed out that Rwanda’s human rights record makes it no country for refugees.

Read more: Taking stock of Rwanda as a host for refugees

In addition, there have been episodes in which people have been sent back to dangerous situations. For instance, when Israel entered into a similar deal with Rwanda in 2013, thousands of people were expelled to countries of origin by Kigali without being allowed to claim asylum.

There’s a chance that, before UK asylum seekers are sent to Rwanda, they may lodge cases against the UK government claiming the risk of refoulement. This will delay their departure as courts would need to consider claims based on the person’s background and make a decision based on their circumstances on whether the threat truly exists.

Evidence might include aspects of an individual’s personal or family background, health, sexuality, or their past relationship with the authorities in Rwanda.

Whether any claim succeeds will depend on the strength of the evidence about a person’s individual circumstances and the risk they might face if removed.

• International law
• Human rights
• Refugee law
• Persecution
• Human rights violations

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'Do not travel' alert issued after freight train derails on major route

The incident happened on the West Coast Main Line between Carlisle and Oxenholme Lake District.

Thursday 30 May 2024 12:44, UK

A "do not travel" alert has been issued - and rail services cancelled and delayed - after a freight train derailed on a major route between England and Scotland.

The incident happened on the West Coast Main Line between Penrith and Oxenholme Lake District on Wednesday night.

Some lines are blocked and a very limited train service is running on the line that remains open.

Train operators Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express issued the alert, urging passengers not to attempt to use their services for journeys between Preston and Scotland on Thursday.

Ticket holders can delay journeys until Friday or travel with other operators.

Network Rail apologised to passengers affected by the derailment and warned services would be disrupted for the rest of the day.

It said specialist repair teams were on site working as fast as they can to make the railway safe.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

A spokesperson told Sky News: "We are working hard to move a partly derailed freight train near Shap, between Oxenholme and Penrith on the West Coast Main Line.

"We're really sorry to passengers whose journeys have been impacted while we work to safely reopen the line as quickly as possible.

"Please check before you travel if travelling north of Preston."

Read more from Sky News: Child among four injured in 'drive-by' shooting Bodies found in search for missing father and son

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Network Rail's acting North West route strategy director Kara Wood added: "Disruption is expected for the rest of the day, so we're urging people to plan their journeys and check before they travel with their train operator or National Rail Enquiries."

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