Plans to revive a Rwanda asylum scheme have been criticised by Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister. Speaking in an interview, Jenrick explained that attempting to send people seeking UK asylum to Rwanda was “unlikely to work” and that the draft law was “weak” and would be “bogged down” by legal challenges. The scheme previously enabled the UK to send asylum seekers to the east African country, but was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court last month. The legislation, which argues in UK law that Rwanda is a safe country to send refugees to, was reintroduced after the ruling.
Jenrick stated that the current form of the legislation would still allow a “range of legal claims that will bog down our scheme,” adding that he would not support it in a crucial vote on Tuesday. The former minister also argued that the plan would not have enough deportations to deter people crossing the English Channel in small boats. The bill has proved divisive among Conservative MPs, some of whom argue it goes too far while others claim it does not go far enough.
At the vote on Tuesday, MPs will decide whether the bill should be blocked completely or allowed to progress to its next parliamentary stage. The government must ensure enough Tory MPs vote for the legislation to pass as Labour and other opposition parties oppose the move. Tory critics may choose to allow the bill to pass at this stage, possibly by abstaining, in order to gain concessions from the government during later parliamentary stages
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More