Rwanda
Home secretary James Cleverly had said it would be ready "in days".
But there was some compassion for asylum seekers.
The home secretary used various forms of words to avoid saying whether he had uttered the phrase or not.
The home secretary said the policy is deterring migrants from getting on small boats even though it hasn't begun yet.
The Tory minister was slammed by the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire.
Alex Chalk said courts rule "without fear or favour" after the government's flagship immigration plan was judged to be illegal.
The startling remarks came after the Supreme Court deemed the scheme to be illegal
The Labour leader said he wanted "a pragmatic plan that is actually going to fix this problem, not rhetoric".
The work and pensions secretary made the embarrassing gaffe as he insisted the prime minister's plan to "stop the boats" was working.
Former prime minister makes intervention after plan to deport refugees to east African country was ruled unlawful.