Uh oh. It’s day five of Sir Keir’s new Labour government and already the reds are running into trouble. Politicians confirmed last week Sunak’s Rwanda plan was to be scrapped, with the Labour party instead planning to tackle immigration by ‘smashing the gangs’. But there is a cost to the change of tack – and a rather steep one at that.
It turns out that the Rwandan government is a little reluctant to repay the money it received from the UK for the scheme, saying it is ‘under no obligation’ to return the £270 million sum. Dr Doris Uwicyeza Picard from the country’s ministry of justice told the BBC:
We are under no obligation to provide any refund. We will remain in constant discussions. However, it is understood that there is no obligation on either side to request or receive a refund. We were informed of the UK’s decision. We take note of the UK’s decision to terminate the agreement. There is a break clause which means the UK can withdraw from paying a further £50m in 2025 and again in 2026. Rwanda has maintained its side of the agreement, and we have ramped up capacity to accommodate thousands of migrants and asylum seekers. We have upheld our end of the deal. We understand that changes in government happen and incoming governments have different priorities and different policies. However, this was a state to state agreement and we believe this good faith will remain.
In the meantime, Downing Street has promised to look ‘very carefully’ at money that could be retrieved and new Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is planning an audit of the policy. Home Office rep Sir James Eadie has said that asylum claims from those initially expected to be deported to the African country ‘will be considered in a manner consistent with the new government’s new asylum policy’ adding that this ‘does not involve removals to Rwanda’. How curious…
Former home secretary James Cleverly – whose ex-aide called the scheme ‘crap’ – has hit out at the government over the move, criticising it for giving up on millions of pounds and starting a ‘diplomatic row’. He tweeted sarcastically: ‘Great start for Yvette at the Home Office…’. Quite.
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