Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
A man has been sent to Rwanda as part of a voluntary relocation program set up by the British government for failed asylum seekers. Officials want to present this as a “proof of concept” for their forced repatriation program.
Earlier this year, the government began offering failed asylum seekers who cannot be sent back to their home country £3,000 to voluntarily relocate to Rwanda instead of remaining in the UK.
The first flight carrying a person to Rwanda under the program, first reported by the Sun, departed Monday, according to a person briefed on the move.
The government rejects tens of thousands of asylum claims every year, but is not authorized under international human rights law to send people back to war-torn or authoritarian countries, including Afghanistan and Iran.
The voluntary payment program is separate from the agreement signed last year between London and Kigali, under which the government plans to forcibly deport asylum seekers arriving irregularly in the United Kingdom to the African country in order to apply for asylum there.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he plans to launch the first flights carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda by July under the untested program. He argues that this will deter other migrants from traveling to Britain on small boats to seek refuge.
Sunak faces a difficult week as the Conservatives brace for potentially catastrophic losses in Thursday’s local and mayoral elections, which could lead to a leadership challenge led by insurgent Tory MPs.
Last year he tried to win over disillusioned voters with a tough crackdown on migration.
Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said: “The Tories are so desperate to get a flight to Rwanda before the local elections that they have now simply paid someone to do it.”
“Not only are British taxpayers paying £3,000 for a volunteer to board a plane, they are also paying Rwanda to provide him with free board and lodging for the next five years,” she said. “This extortionate pre-election trick is expected to cost an average of £2 million per person.”
A government spokesman said: “As part of our migration and economic development partnership, we are now in a position to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.” This agreement allows people without immigration status in the UK to be resettled in a safe third country where they will be supported to rebuild their lives become.”
Sunak’s Rwanda plan has suffered repeated setbacks over the past two years, including a Supreme Court ruling that the plan was unlawful because Rwanda could not be considered a safe country.
The government responded by drafting a bill – which entered the statute books this month – that would designate Rwanda as a safe country and override parts of Britain’s human rights law, which could lead to the system being challenged in court.
The plan – which Britain’s spending watchdog warned could cost the government more than £500 million – has been criticized by opposition parties and migrant rights groups who argue it will not have the deterrent effect the Tories claim.