An empty plane stranded on the runway might be a metaphor for the whole of Boris Johnson’s government, but it is also the literal outcome of Priti Patel’s refugee policy. The effort to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing was thwarted by a challenge in the European court of human rights.
The government has said it is determined to press ahead with a plan that costs tens of millions of pounds with no feasible prospect of achieving its ostensible goal – deterrence of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.
