CAMPAIGNERS circled Parliament aboard an open-topped bus today in protest at the “cruel” Rwanda deal as a new survey challenged Tory claims that those targeted for deportation are “not genuine refugees.”

The survey, by the coalition group Together with Refugees, found that almost half of asylum-seekers threatened with deportation to the African country are married or engaged, while a fifth have children.

The findings, published today, also revealed that three-quarters of the 213 asylum-seekers involved in the analysis have fled countries where 82 per cent are granted refugee status by the Home Office after reaching Britain. 

The coalition, which is made up of over 500 groups representing refugees, said the findings “smash” former home secretary Priti Patel’s claims about small boat arrivals. 

Ms Patel previously told a parliamentary committee: “In the last 12 months alone 70 per cent of the individuals who have come to our country illegally via small boats are single men, who are effectively economic migrants. They are not genuine asylum-seekers… These are the ones who are elbowing out the women and children, who are at risk and fleeing persecution.”

However the analysis found that 13 people targeted are women, while three identify as LGBTQ+, despite Rwanda being a country from which people fleeing persecution due to their sexual orientation can seek asylum in Britain. 

Rwandan refugees were among those participating in the bus protest this morning aside actor and refugee rights activist Juliet Stevenson, comedian Patrick Monahan and grassroots activists.

The old-fashioned red London bus was emblazoned with a banner reading “scrap the cruel Rwanda plan,” with passengers urging ministers not to “throw refugees under the bus.”

Together with Refugees spokeswoman Beth Gardiner-Smith, who is also the CEO of charity Safe Passage, said: “Turning our backs on already traumatised people, sending them away and treating them like human cargo, is horrifying.  

“But this scheme is not just morally wrong, it’s expensive and unworkable. If our government were serious about tackling smuggling and saving lives at sea, they would scrap this plan and urgently expand safe routes for refugees.”

The protest comes after High Court judges gave permission to asylum-seekers and campaigners earlier this month to appeal its December ruling, finding the overall policy to be lawful.