The United Kingdom has provided an additional £100 million to Rwanda this year as part of the agreement to relocate asylum seekers to the African nation.
This payment, revealed by the Home Office’s top civil servant, Sir Matthew Rycroft, in a letter to Members of Parliament, followed a previous sum of £140 million sent to Rwanda.
Sir Matthew also disclosed that another payment of £50 million is anticipated next year.
This revelation coincided with Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s commitment to continue the plan after the recent resignation of the immigration minister.
The initiative, announced by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in April 2022, aims to process asylum seekers in Rwanda to discourage illegal crossings of the English Channel in small boats.
However, legal challenges have repeatedly delayed its implementation, and as of now, no asylum seekers have been relocated.
The total cost of the policy, which had been previously undisclosed, was confirmed by Sir Matthew in response to inquiries from committee chairwomen Dame Diana Johnson and Dame Meg Hillier.
He emphasized that the additional payments were unrelated to the newly signed treaty between the UK and Rwanda, aimed at addressing the policy’s legal challenges.
The Home Office did not specify how the funds would be utilized but mentioned that they would contribute to Rwanda’s economic development and growth.
The payment occurred during Suella Braverman’s tenure as home secretary, although her allies argue that it was approved by the prime minister.
The Labour Party criticized the revelation of additional costs, with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper questioning the transparency of the scheme.
Chancellor Sunak, in a press conference, urged Conservative MPs to support the plan, introduced through emergency legislation.
This comes after the resignation of immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who deemed the revised policy destined for failure.
Sunak’s proposed bill aims to put an end to legal challenges related to asylum seekers’ flights to Rwanda by designating the country as safe.
However, it falls short of dismissing the European Convention on Human Rights, a demand from some factions within the Conservative Party.
The bill, set to return to Parliament, faces opposition from different Conservative Party factions.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman reiterated her skepticism about the bill’s efficacy, urging the government to fully exclude international law.
The responsibility of steering the bill through Parliament falls on Michael Tomlinson, the newly appointed illegal migration minister, who will collaborate with Tom Pursglove, the minister for legal migration, following the division of Robert Jenrick’s former role.
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