THE head of the church in Wales has welcomed the news that the UK Government's Rwanda plan has been deemed illegal.

The Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, who is from Aberystwyth, said this morning he welcomed the Supreme Court’s judgement.

Lord Reed announced the "unanimous" judgment, saying those sent to the country would be at "real risk" of being returned home, whether their grounds to claim asylum were justified or not.

The Rwanda deportation scheme, would have seen those arriving in the UK illegally via small boats deported to the east African nation, a plan first put forward by Boris Johnson.

The supreme court decision brings to an end 18 months of legal wrangling.

Archbishop Andy John said: “I welcome the judgement of the Supreme Court today. They have determined that the government's plan to deport migrants to Rwanda is unlawful.

I have argued previously that this policy was also immoral and indefensible and hope the government will now accept the judgement of the court.”

Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said the verdict was 'not the outcome we wanted', adding that the government would "now consider next steps."