Top Tory Grant Shapps has refused to rule out RAF planes being used to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda in a desperate bid to get the scheme up and running.
The Defence Secretary said the Government will do "whatever we need to do" amid claims the Home Office is struggling to find firms willing to help. Last week it emerged even Rwanda's state-owned airline, RwandAir, had refused to get involved due to fears it would damage its brand.
It comes amid reports that RAF Voyager aircraft could be deployed - despite growing pressure on the air force amid the crisis in the Middle East. Downing Street has drawn up plans to order the Ministry of Defence to repurpose at least one of the leased aircraft for this, according to The Times.
Defence Secretary Mr Shapps did not deny the suggestion, telling Sky News: "We will do whatever we need to do to make sure that we can get these flights off, whether they are charter flights or other kinds of flights." He claimed that which aircraft took asylum seekers to Rwanda was a "secondary issue". The Home Office has also not denied the claim.
Rishi Sunak's desperate Rwanda Bill - which seeks to declare it a safe country - is stuck in deadlock after defiant peers inflicted two big defeats on Wednesday. Mr Sunak has insisted he wants to get flights to Rwanda off the ground this spring, but MPs will not consider the legislation again until Monday.
His proposed law aims to send some asylum seekers on a one-way trip to Kigali in order to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats. But it has been dismissed as an expensive "gimmick" by Labour.
The House of Lords on Wednesday snubbed ministerial calls to back down and again insisted on revisions to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill. They said Rwanda cannot be treated as a safe country until an independent monitoring body has verified that protections contained in the treaty are implemented.
In a further blow to the Government, peers again supported an exemption from removal for those who worked with the UK military or Government overseas, such as Afghan interpreters.