Rwanda has received an additional £100m from the UK government this year as part of the deal to relocate asylum seekers there. According to the Home Office’s top civil servant Sir Matthew Rycroft, the payment was made in April, following the earlier transfer of £140m to the African nation. He also stated that a further payment of £50m was due next year. The details of the additional payments surfaced after the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak defended the Rwanda plans at a press conference on Thursday.
The policy to divert asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing, to discourage the crossing of the English Channel in small boats, was first proposed by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in April 2022. However, legal action and legal challenges led to repeated delays in implementing the scheme, and the plan is yet to be put into action. Sir Matthew said ministers had decided to reveal updated figures annually, and had hitherto refused to provide updated figures.
Dame Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, warned that it was “unconscionable” that MPs had been asked to vote on emergency Rwanda legislation without access to fully updated costs. She suggested that it appeared as if the government was hiding something. A Home Office spokesperson stated that the money was meant to enhance the economic development and growth of Rwanda.
The announcement follows the resignation of immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who primary cited concerns about the revised policy’s potential failure. Sunak proposed emergency legislation, which he assured would end the “merry-go-round of legal challenges” over the transfer of some asylum seekers to Rwanda. Opponents in Conservative Party factions have previously criticized the relocation plan
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