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An international tribunal has ruled that the United Kingdom is not required to pay Rwanda millions of pounds following the collapse of their asylum agreement, which was terminated soon after Keir Starmer became Prime Minister. The Rwandan government had sought compensation exceeding £100 million, alleging that the UK had violated the contract’s terms.
The original agreement, signed by the previous Conservative government, intended for the UK to fund Rwanda in hosting asylum seekers who arrived in the UK illegally. During a three-day hearing held in the Netherlands, UK legal representatives argued that it was “entirely logical” for the Labour government to abandon the plan and maintained it was “simple common sense” that no payments should be owed after the cancellation. They further insisted that the UK had not broken any part of the agreement, stating to the Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration that “Rwanda is not entitled to any of the forms of relief it seeks.”
Rwanda’s minister of justice and attorney general, Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, had previously expressed to the court that Rwanda had incurred considerable expenses in preparing for the deal. He also criticized the UK for not informing Rwanda in advance about the termination, leaving Rwandan officials to learn of the cancellation through the media. The scheme had been introduced by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a way to deter illegal crossings of the English Channel by small boats.
Originally announced by Boris Johnson in 2022, the plan aimed to transfer asylum seekers arriving illegally in the UK—from safe countries such as France—to Rwanda for their claims to be processed. Successful applicants could be granted refugee status and permitted to stay in Rwanda. However, the first flight under the scheme was halted just before departure following an intervention by the European Court of Human Rights, which led to multiple legal challenges in UK courts. The scheme faced sustained controversy and was eventually scrapped, replaced in 2024 by a voluntary removals program offering migrants whose asylum claims were refused up to £3,000 to relocate to Rwanda—a program that saw only four participants. Ending the policy had been a Labour election promise, and upon taking office, Starmer declared the arrangement “dead and buried.” Responding to the court’s ruling, a UK government spokesperson emphasized that the government had “robustly” defended its position and remained focused on implementing reforms to better control borders, reduce incentives for illegal migration, and increase removals of those without legal right to remain in the country
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