Rwanda plan for migrants is unveiled as Boris visits Kent
‘No boat will make it to UK undetected’ pledges PM as Navy steps in
Boris Johnson flew in to Kent to reveal new government plans to tackle illegal immigration.
Asylum seekers arriving in the county in small boats could be sent to Rwanda as part of the world’s first Migration and Economic Development Partnership signed by the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, and Rwandan Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-Operation, Vincent Birut.
During brief visits to Lydd Airport and Dover on Thursday, Mr Johnson announced the Navy would now take command of the English Channel from Border Force to ensure “no boat makes it to the UK undetected”.
An initial £120 million is expected to be given to the Rwandan government under a trial scheme, with Ms Patel striking a deal during a visit to the capital of Kigali.
The number of people who can be relocated will be “unlimited”,
with the first due to receive for
mal notifications within weeks, and the first flights expected to take place in the coming months.
Mr Johnson said the agreement is “uncapped” and Rwanda will have the “capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead”, including
those who have arrived “illegally” since the start of the year.
He pledged £50 million in new funding for boats, aerial surveillance and military personnel to help ensure the measures are a “very considerable deterrent” to crossings.
And he said people who succeed in making it to the UK “will be taken not to hotels at vast public expense” and instead will be housed in Greek-style detention centres, with the first opening “shortly”.
Responding to the plans, spokeswoman for Kent Refugee Action Network, Bridget Chapman,
said: “The public should be very sceptical. They will be open to legal challenge and it’s likely that very few people will ever actually be sent to Rwanda.
“This will also come at great cost, both financially and at a huge cost to the reputational damage of the UK’s record on human rights.
“Australia had a similar policy of offshoring those seeking asylum. It has been widely condemned by human rights organisations and has hoovered up vast amounts of public money. It costs the Australian public around $4million per person per year which is a little over £2million. The best way to deal with this situation is to offer genuinely accessible legal routes to those in need.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, condemned the policy in his Easter address, saying it “cannot stand up to God’s judgment”.
In March this year, 3,066 people made the crossing - almost four times the amount recorded for the same month in 2021 and 16 times the amount for 2020.