The government's Rwanda bill - to send UK asylum seekers to be processed in Africa

The government's Rwanda bill - to send UK asylum seekers to be processed in Africa - has finally been approved by Parliament, after two years of legal battles and political wrangling. So how soon is a plane bound for Kigali likely to take off?

Let's just say the engines on the planes will be staying silent for now.

While the bill has now passed through Parliament, the quickest a flight can take off is - technically speaking - 12 days after the King has given royal assent, which then formally turns the bill into law.

In practice, the date of the first flight is likely to be later than that - according to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in 10 to 12 weeks, meaning late June or early July.

"That is later than we wanted," Mr Sunak said on Monday, admitting the government would miss its own Spring deadline for a flight, "but we have always been clear that processing will take time."