The UK has sent the first failed asylum seeker to Rwanda under a voluntary scheme.

The scheme is for those who have gone through the asylum process and had permission rejected, rather than for migrants who have illegally entered Britain by crossing the Channel on small boats.

The migrant was sent on a commercial flight and handed a fee from the British taxpayer to help relocate under the terms of a deal with Rwanda.

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According to The Sun, the man of African origin claimed asylum in the UK but was rejected at the end of last year. He then accepted the offer to go to Rwanda.

He left the UK on Monday.

This was not done using the powers set out in the Safety of Rwanda Act, but rather a parallel scheme that allows someone to choose to make the trip if their attempts to claim asylum in the UK fails.

And upon arrival in Kigali, the person is able to claim around £3,000 in UK taxpayer money as help.

The development was criticised by both the Labour Party and Reform UK director Nigel Farage.

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said: “The Tories are so desperate to get any flight off to Rwanda before the local elections that they have now just paid someone to go.

“British taxpayers aren’t just forking out £3,000 for a volunteer to board a plane, they are also paying Rwanda to provide him with free board and lodgings for the next five years. This extortionate pre-election gimmick is likely to be costing on average £2m per person.

“Former Tory Home Office ministers warned that the government’s plan was just to get token flights off before a General Election. Now we know what they mean.”

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Former UKIP leader Mr Farage said: “Don’t be conned by this new government spin on the Rwanda deal.

“This African man, who did not even cross the Channel, was refused asylum and has voluntarily accepted £3,000 and free board.

“It won’t stop the boats.”

The government’s attempts to forcefully remove people to Rwanda were announced more than two years ago, but no one has been sent so far.

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Earlier this month, parliament passed the Safety of Rwanda Act, and the government hopes to get flights off the ground in nine to 11 weeks.

A government spokesperson said: “We are now able to send asylum seekers to Rwanda under our migration and economic development partnership.

“This deal allows people with no immigration status in the UK to be relocated to a safe third country where they will be supported to rebuild.”

An Israeli ground offensive in Rafah is “on the immediate horizon”, the UN’s aid chief has warned, as Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that his forces “will enter” the southern Gaza city.

Martin Griffiths said in a statement on X on Tuesday the threatened attack would “spell even more trauma and death” for those in the city and “strike a disastrous blow” to the aid agencies trying to help them.

“Famine is taking hold. The rules of war continue to be flouted,” he said, adding that a ground operation in the city, where an estimated 1.5 million displaced Gaza Palestinians are sheltering, will be “a tragedy beyond words”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to states with influence over Israel “to do everything in their power” to prevent an Israeli assault on Rafah.

Their comments came as Mr Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, reaffirmed his intention to order a long-promised assault on the city, whatever the response by Hamas to the latest ceasefire proposals.

Mr Netanyahu said Israel would enter Rafah, which it says is Hamas’s last stronghold, regardless of whether a truce-for-hostages deal is struck.

In a statement from his office, he said: “The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas’s battalions there – with or without a deal, to achieve the total victory.”

His comments appeared to be directed at his nationalist governing partners, who have pressured him not to accept a deal that might prevent an assault on the city.

Mr Netanyahu appeared to reassure one of them, national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose office said the leader promised him “Israel will enter Rafah, we are not stopping the war and there won’t be a reckless deal”.

The US has repeatedly said it opposes the Rafah operation until Israel presents a credible plan for evacuating and protecting those in the city.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken, speaking in Jordan before flying to Israel, to help advance the latest round of ceasefire talks, urged Hamas to respond to Israel’s latest ceasefire plan, saying: “No more delays. No more excuses. The time to act is now.”

Negotiations aimed at freeing hostages, bringing relief to civilians and averting an Israeli offensive into Rafah appear to be gaining strength.

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The near seven-month conflict began when Hamas fighters killed around 1,200 people and took some 250 Israelis and foreigners hostage in their 7 October incursion into southern Israel.

It prompted Israel’s assault on Gaza, as it pledged to destroy Hamas and bring the hostages home.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, according to local health officials, who say about two-thirds of the dead are women and children.

It was a rare window into confrontations most have viewed from afar. We were invited on board the Philippine Coastguard Vessel BRP Bagacay.

They were on a resupply mission to Scarborough Shoal – a submerged reef which China claims as its own but is within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.

They were meant to be dropping off food and fuel to fishermen who rely on the lives beneath these waters. But they knew, as did we, that this journey was about far more.

It felt as if they wanted to show the world they were willing to stand up to Beijing if Chinese ships tried to block their path.

Our trip comes off the back of a trilateral summit with Japan and America, where no doubt there were discussions on how to handle China’s expanding interests and increasing manoeuvres in the South China Sea.

We got on the ship on Monday afternoon. By dawn the following day, the tension was already apparent.

Two ships were already trailing behind our vessel – more than three hours away from Scarborough Shoal.

There has long been a game of brinkmanship in this waterway – where about one-third of the world’s shipping passes through. But this felt more choreographed and intense than it has for some time.

Soon, the captain told us 12 ships were encircling our vessel.

They swerved in front of the Philippine crew, who exchanged warnings over the radio.

On the deck, the crew rushed towards buoys every time the Chinese edged closer – trying to protect themselves in case there was a collision. We could see the Chinese crew taking pictures – just metres away from us.

Then suddenly, a volley of water was fired at the boat. The force of it seemed to take even the experienced crew on board by surprise.

We were on the stern of the vessel and got soaked. As we were ushered inside, the roof of part of the deck that some of us had spent the previous night sleeping on was ripped apart. Despite the damage, the water cannons continued to fire.

Within hours the Chinese coastguard was trying to get the first word out to the world about the incident.

They say the Philippine vessel we were on has been “expelled”.

The team on board the Philippine vessel tell us they’re turning back because the other ship they were travelling alongside has had its radar damaged by the water cannons.

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There is arguably one silent player in this fraught moment – America.

The US has recently deepened its military and diplomatic ties with the Philippines. It’s described China’s actions as “coercive and unlawful”.

It has also made clear that due to a joint defence treaty, it will take action if Beijing conducts a military attack.

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That’s raised the temperature of this tussle and the spectre of a superpower showdown.

No one wants that yet, but the chances of a dangerous misstep now look far higher.