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U.K. cancels first flight to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda

Intervention came from the European Court of Human Rights, which said the British plan had a chance of causing "irreversible harm."
The grounded Rwanda deportation flight EC-LZO Boeing 767 at Boscombe Down Air Base, on June 14, 2022 in Boscombe Down.

LONDON — Britain canceled a flight that was scheduled to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda late Tuesday after the European Court of Human Rights intervened, saying the plan carried "a real risk of irreversible harm."

The decision to scrap the flight capped three days of frantic court challenges from immigrant rights lawyers who launched a flurry of case-by-case appeals seeking to block the deportation of everyone on the government's list.

British government officials had said earlier in the day that the plane would take off no matter how many people were on board. But after the appeals, no one remained.

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