British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday defended his government’s revised plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, but main opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer dismissed the plan as a “gimmick.”
Sunak and Starmer clashed over the country’s migration policy during Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament one day after the announcement of a new treaty with Rwanda to address the concerns of the UK Supreme Court, which last month ruled that the government’s original plan to send asylum seekers to the East African country was unlawful.
“(We) will do everything it takes to get this scheme working so that we can indeed stop the (migrant) boats,” said Sunak, insisting that the new legally binding treaty will address all the concerns that have been raised by the court.
He vowed to stop the boats and get “flights off,” referring to sending asylum-seekers trying to enter the UK to Rwanda for resettlement.
“Deterrence is critical, even the National Crime Agency have said that you need an effective removals and deterrence agreement if you truly want to break the cycle of tragedy that we see,” added Sunak.
Pressing Sunak on the government’s migration policy, Starmer called the plan a “gimmick,” saying the plan claims Rwanda would settle tens of thousands of people while currently the number of people sent there “remains stubbornly consistent zero.”
On Article 19 of the treaty, saying that “the parties shall make arrangements for the United Kingdom to resettle a portion of Rwanda’s most vulnerable refugees in the United Kingdom,” Starmer asked: “So, how many refugees from Rwanda will be coming here to the UK under the treaty?”
In reply, Sunak said that the number of small boat arrivals to Britain has fallen by a third, thanks to the Conservative government’s policies, accusing the Labour Party of having no plan to address the migration issue.
‘How’d you lose 17,000 people?’
Starmer continued to press Sunak over the plan, asking how much did “this fantastic deal” cost the UK.
Sunak said no “incremental money” has been provided, reiterating that the new treaty is all about addressing the Supreme Court’s concerns.
Starmer “is not interested in stopping the boats, which is why he’s not interested in the Rwanda plan,” charged the prime minister.
Starmer said that the Tories “have broken the asylum system,” saying the home office admitted last week that 17,000 people in the asylum system have disappeared.
“Their exact words, it’s hard to believe this. How’d you lose 17,000 people?” he asked.
The new treaty seeks to ensure that people relocated to Rwanda under the partnership are not at risk of being returned to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened – an act known as refoulement – according to the Home Office.
“The Supreme Court recognised that changes may be delivered which would address their conclusions – this treaty responds directly to that,” Home Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement on Tuesday.
The plan had been one of the most controversial planks of the government’s migration policy, as it sparked international criticism and mass protests across the UK.
Tackling small boat crossings by irregular migrants across the British Channel is among five priorities of the British government, as more than 45,000 migrants arrived in the country that way last year.