"The first flight will leave in July and then there will be a series of flights throughout the summer to build up deterrence," he told LBC radio. 

Pressed on whether they would take place before 4 July, Sunak admitted they would be "after the election". 

"The preparation work is already underway," he insisted. 

The Conservative leader said the choice was between him and Labour rival Keir Starmer, who he claimed would "rip up the plan and give illegal immigrants an amnesty". 

The UK government in April passed a controversial law paving the way for migrants arriving in the UK on small boats across the Channel from France to be sent to Rwanda under a deal with the east African nation. 

Sunak argued on LBC that "15 other European countries agree" with London's approach of deporting illegal migrants to third countries. 

Last week, 15 European Union member states proposed relocating asylum seekers to safe third countries and "mutually beneficial and sustainable" partnerships with key countries along migration routes to "reduce the pressure" of migration. 

In a letter to the European Commission, the interior and migration ministers of Italy, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania and Finland proposed measures to address the "challenges facing the EU asylum and migration system, with a sharp increase in irregular arrivals, [which] are unsustainable". 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday called a snap general election for July 4 after being granted permission by King Charles III to dissolve parliament. 

The main opposition Labour Party is favourite to win the election, with opinion polls giving it a lead of around 20 points over the Conservatives, who have been in power since 2010. 

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