Hundreds gather in St Peter's Square to protest against government plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda

More than a hundred people gathered in Manchester city centre today to protest government plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. As boisterous festival-goers queued at St Peter's Square Metrolink stop en route to Parklife, a protester pounded on a drum just yards away.

Amid the clash of cultures, there was something resembling a carnival spirit in the air outside Manchester Central Library. But the music soon gave way to impassioned speeches from activists slamming the government's deportation policy, which will see those who arrive in Britain illegally face deportation 4,000 miles away to Rwanda in east Africa.

Protesters carried placards and broke out into chants criticising the plan - put forward by Home Secretary Priti Patel in April - which is aimed at discourage people trying to cross the channel in small boats from northern France.

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The plans have been widely criticised on human rights grounds but a legal challenge to block the first one-way flight to Rwanda on Tuesday has been rejected by the High Court. A total of 31 people were due on the flight, although at least 15 of them have since had their tickets cancelled.

The Home Office is planning to schedule more flights to Rwanda later this year. An appeal against the High Court decision is due to be heard on Monday.

Once the speeches were over, protesters marched down Oxford Street and Portland Street chanting “refugees are welcome here” and calling for the flights to Rwanda to be stopped. Bemused passers-by watched on as protesters came to a halt on a set of tram tracks and took the knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matters movement.

Minutes later, the