Rishi Sunak has refused to name a date for when the first flight will take asylum seekers to Rwanda.

The prime minister has given his full backing to the policy – first introduced by Boris Johnson – that would see those arriving in the UK via small boat crossings or other illegal means deported to the African country to have their asylum claims assessed.

But despite having pledged to get flights off the ground in the spring, Mr Sunak would not give reporters a firm date, instead saying: “We need to get the bill through parliament first… but I am confident that once the bill is passed, we will be able to get this scheme up and running.”

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It comes as the number of people who arrived in the UK on small boats in the Channel rose above 5,000 by the end of March for the first time.

The previous record high figure for January to March was 4,548 in 2022, with 3,793 arrivals in the first quarter of last year.

The government’s Rwanda scheme has faced huge opposition from campaigners and rival parties, and was ruled unlawful by the UK Supreme Court last November.

As a result, the government altered the legislation to include a new treaty and to state in law that Rwanda is a safe country.

It has still faced fierce criticism though – especially in the House of Lords, which has applied multiple changes to the bill before sending it back to the Commons.

MPs are expected to vote on those amendments when they return to parliament next week, but the law could be stuck in so-called parliamentary “ping pong” between the two chambers for some time if peers decide to stand their ground.

Now we have entered spring, reporters asked the prime minister for a date when the first flight would take off.

He said: “I just saw the president of Rwanda in Downing Street this week and they are absolutely committed to delivering on our partnership and I am confident that they have got all the preparation in place to do so.

“Look, I am committed to stopping the boats. We need to have a deterrent so that if people come here illegally they can’t stay, they will be removed. That’s why Rwanda is so important. That’s why I am determined to see it through.”

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But Mr Sunak added: “First of all we need to get it through parliament, where the Labour Party has been blocking it for a long time.

“Once it is up and running I am confident we will be able to operationalise the scheme [and] get people on flights because that’s how we set up a deterrent and ultimately end the unfairness of people jumping the queue, coming here illegally, putting pressure on local services and risking their own lives.

“None of that’s right, none of it’s fair and none of it’s compassionate either, to do nothing, and our plan is the right one.”