The “inhumane” treatment of migrants rounded up in a “futile” operation for the now scrapped Rwanda scheme, has been laid bare in testimonies from Home Office staff that reveal force was used against distressed detainees.

Dozens of migrants facing removal to Rwanda under the previous Conservative government were detained as part of a surprise initiative, Operation Vector, launched days before the 2 May local elections in England and Wales in what critics say was an “act of political theatre”.

Home Office accounts show the department paid out £56.8m in compensation for more than 2,700 wrongful detentions in the five years before the Rwanda raids.

(Fran Heathcote, general secretary for the Public and Commercial Services union) added: “What also concerns us is the likelihood Rishi Sunak knew full well the Rwanda scheme was futile and causing distress to individuals but continued to push it ahead of the general election to make a political point.”

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