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The detentions come following the passage of the Safety of Rwanda Act, which declared the central African nation a safe country for failed asylum seekers to be sent to.

Officers have raided the homes of the first people to be deported to Rwanda.

told It comes following the recent passing of the Safety of Rwanda Act, which declared the central African nation safe following concerns raised by the Supreme Court last year.

A video released by the Home Office showed officers entering homes and bringing out people detained in handcuffs, before putting them in the back of secure vans.

According to the government, "operational teams within the Home Office have been working at pace to safely and swiftly detain individuals in scope for relocation to Rwanda, with more activity due to be carried out in the coming weeks".

It comes after a failed asylum seeker voluntarily chose to go to Kigali once their application to stay in the UK failed.

The Rwanda plan has been a major policy for the Conservative government since April 2022, but has faced repeated legal challenges.

It is understood that women are among those detained.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said: "Our Rwanda partnership is a pioneering response to the global challenge of illegal migration, and we have worked tirelessly to introduce new, robust legislation to deliver it.

"Our dedicated enforcement teams are working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground.

"This is a complex piece of work, but we remain absolutely committed to operationalising the policy, to stop the boats and break the business model of people smuggling gangs."

The government has previously said it has 2,200 "detention spaces", alongside 200 new caseworkers and 500 "highly trained escorts" ready.

It added that planes have been booked, with flights set to take off in nine to 11 weeks' time.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, told Sky News the scheme was equivalent to flogging a dead horse.

He told political editor Beth Rigby: "I don't believe in the scheme. I don't think it will work.

"I know we have to stop the boats.

"I want to get going with our plan - stop the boats on day one, which requires us to stop the gangs that are running this vile trade or to work with law enforcement across the borders to make sure that people are not getting the boats in the first place.

"And that's why I've already had discussions in The Hague about how quickly we can share data and intelligence to do that.

"So I'm absolutely determined to tackle this problem because the government has lost control of the borders.

"What I'm not going to do is flog a dead horse."

The Rwanda plan was introduced in a bid to deter people from crossing the Channel in small boats and entering the UK illegally.

Since the passage of the latest legislation, tensions have grown between the UK and Ireland after people entered the Republic to escape facing deportation.

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But the government in Westminster says it will not take people back until a reciprocal agreement is put in place to allow returns to France for people who cross the Channel.

The latest figures show that 7,567 people have crossed the Channel since the start of 2024 - 27% higher than this time last year, and 13% higher than the equivalent period in 2022.