Migrants in northern France have said they are waiting for a Labour government before they make the journey across the Channel to Britain, as a result of Labour's pledge to overturn the Rwanda plan.
Some migrants said they would not risk crossing the Channel until they know there is a new government.
The Labour Party has pledged to scrap the Rwanda scheme on "day one" if Starmer wins the keys to Downing Street.
A 43-year-old Peshmerga fighter from Iraq, currently in northern France, told the Telegraph that he was waiting until after the election to travel to Britain.
He said: "It’s better to wait for two weeks, I would like to wait for two weeks.
"We need to wait until the new government has arrived. It’s [Rwanda] a really bad decision, it’s more politics and business. Have some mercy on the refugees."
A 17-year-old Syrian boy, who injured his hand in a failed boat launch, added: "We don’t have the decision to go, we follow smugglers, it is up to them. But as a feeling, yes it is better to stay two weeks in case there is a new government, which is more safe.
"If the decision was with me I would not go [until Rwanda is dropped]. The smugglers, they look at us not as a human but as money, as a business.
"They do not care if they send us now, before or after. They just need the money, they do not care about that. But absolutely, they know the situation and it could be better for them."
People waiting in France for the end of the Rwanda scheme before coming to Britain is “evidence of the deterrent effect” of the plan, Home Office minister Michael Tomlinson has said
PA
People waiting in France for the end of the Rwanda scheme before coming to Britain is “evidence of the deterrent effect” of the plan, Home Office minister Michael Tomlinson has said.
He told Times Radio: “The deterrent is not fully in place, but we’re already seeing the effects of that deterrent, and we’ve seen overnight the breaking news from the Telegraph on the front pages, where there are those who are in northern France, who are waiting, delaying their journey because they do not like the Rwanda scheme, they do not want to be deported to Rwanda.
“And people have been asking me for weeks, for months, where is the evidence of the deterrent effect? Well, there it is, writ large.
“We saw last month when the Rwanda Act was passed, we saw migrants moving from the United Kingdom into Ireland, we’ve got the evidence literally overnight, from those in northern France.
“And then, of course, if we vote for the Conservative Party on the fourth of July, the planes are booked, the airstrip is ready, and the planes will take off, and that’s when the full deterrent effect will kick in.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said there is nothing stopping his party from winning “a couple of seats” in the General Election
PA
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said there is nothing stopping his party from winning “a couple of seats” in the General Election.
Mr Farage told a rally in Devon that Reform is “on the up” and while he expects Labour to win, his party was “live in second position”.
He said: “Many of these seats (in the West Country) will be decided in Devon and elsewhere by literally a couple of hundred votes either way and I think you’re gonna find we’re in the mix.
“There’s nothing to stop us winning a couple of these seats.
“But to do it, we’re going to need to maintain that momentum, we need to maintain that conversation.”
Migrants in northern France have said they are waiting for a Labour government before they make the journey across the Channel to Britain, as a result of Labour's pledge to overturn the Rwanda plan
PA
Migrants in northern France have said they are waiting for a Labour government before they make the journey across the Channel to Britain, as a result of Labour's pledge to overturn the Rwanda plan.
Some migrants said they would not risk crossing the Channel until they know there is a new government.
The Labour Party has pledged to scrap the Rwanda scheme on "day one" if Starmer wins the keys to Downing Street.
A 43-year old Peshmerga fighter from Iraq, currently in northern France, told the Telegraph that he was waiting until after the election to travel to Britain.
He said: "It’s better to wait for two weeks, I would like to wait for two weeks."