PM’s claim about number of ‘deported’ migrants fact checked

26 March 2024

With the House of Commons about to break for the Easter recess, we took a look at a claim from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions. 

Responding to a question from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on the government’s Rwanda policy, Mr Sunak claimed the government had “deported 24,000 illegal migrants”. This figure appears to be out of date, and needs context.

The Home Office says the Prime Minister’s figure appears to be based on ad-hoc data on the number of enforced and voluntary returns in 2023. More recent official figures show the number was actually 25,646. 

But only a minority of these returns meet the official definition of “deportation” and many were people leaving the UK of their own accord, independently of the authorities. 

Read the full fact check here. 

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