Nigel Farage hit out at Rishi Sunak after dozens of migrants detained for Rwanda flights were freed on bail.

The Reform UK leader said on X: "Rishi's Rwanda plan will never work. Another lie in his manifesto."

The Conservative manifesto promised a "relentless, continual process of permanently removing illegal migrants to Rwanda with a regular rhythm of flights every month starting this July, until the boats are stopped".

But Mr Sunak would not say how many people could be removed from the UK under the scheme or how many flights would take place.

Meanwhile, fresh High Court legal challenges against elements of the policy are underway, with Government lawyers telling a judge the first flight was now planned for July 24.

The PM previously confirmed no planes would leave the tarmac before the General Election on July 4.

During the campaign, it has emerged the Home Office had already released some migrants on bail after they had been detained for Rwanda flights but the department has refused to say how many were being held, how many had already been freed and how many more were due to be released.

Duncan Lewis Solicitors today said it represents 50 people being held ahead of deportation flights the Government wants to see take off in July and that they had all been granted immigration bail in the wake of court hearings.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the firm said on Wednesday: "We represent 50 of those detainees and can confirm that they all now have bail.

"Many clients are survivors of torture and trafficking. The tribunal, in granting bail, rightly assessed them to not carry a risk of absconding, reaching the rational view that removal was not imminent.

"Removal was not imminent at the time of detention and certainly not imminent after the Prime Minister's announcement, calling for a General Election.

"The detrimental impact that unnecessary and prolonged detention has had on our vulnerable clients is yet to be fully assessed."

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have vowed to scrap the Rwanda plan, which is aimed at stopping small boats if elected.

But the Tories have doubled down on the multi-million-pound deal which has been beset with delays and has stalled for more than two years so far amid legal challenges.