London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

Black refugees? No thank you. UK to sign deal to send “some” asylum seekers to Rwanda

Colonialism created the problem, Rwanda will solve it. Afro asylum seekers will be flown to Rwanda to have their applications processed.

Boris Johnson is set to unveil the plans later, before Home Secretary Priti Patel signs a migration deal with the African nation.

The trial scheme would mean single men arriving in Britain via Channel crossings could be forcibly removed.

Refugee organisations have criticised the plans as cruel and urged a rethink.

Labour said the plan was "unworkable, unethical and extortionate" - and one designed to "distract" from Mr Johnson's fine for breaking Covid-19 laws.

The Liberal Democrats said the proposal would be "expensive for taxpayers, while doing nothing to stop dangerous Channel crossings or combat the smuggling and trafficking gangs".

The deal is expected to see the Rwanda, which is part of the Commonwealth, given an initial £120m as part of a trial, but opponents say the annual cost of the full scheme would be far higher.

In a speech in Kent, Mr Johnson will argue that action is needed to stop "vile people smugglers" turning the ocean into a "watery graveyard".

Last year, 28,526 people are known to have crossed the English Channel in small boats, up from 8,404 in 2020.

Around 600 people made the crossing on Wednesday, and Mr Johnson will say the figure could reach 1,000 a day within weeks.

"We cannot sustain a parallel illegal system," he will say. "Our compassion may be infinite, but our capacity to help people is not."

The prime minister will announce plans to hand operational control of the Channel to the navy, break the business model of people-smuggling gangs, and deter people from risking the crossing.

The measures are part of the government's long-term plan to "take back control of illegal immigration" after Brexit, Mr Johnson will say.

While the number of people crossing the Channel in boats has increased, last year saw fewer people using other routes - such as by lorry - in part because of increased security at the Port of Calais.

The UK/Rwanda Migration and Development Partnership is the centrepiece of a wider policy blitz to deal with what has been a humiliation for ministers who promised Brexit would mean control of Britain's borders.

Instead, record numbers of asylum seekers have been turning up in dinghies beneath the white cliffs of Dover. This year has already seen 4,578 arrivals and looks set to be a new record.

Sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, however, is likely to prove hugely controversial and legally fraught.

Critics point to Rwanda's poor human rights record. At the UN last year, the UK demanded investigations into alleged killings, disappearances and torture.

Ministers will have to explain why Rwanda is the right place to entrust with protecting the human rights of vulnerable asylum seekers who hoped the UK would protect them.


Opposition in Parliament
The government's Nationality and Borders Bill includes a provision to create offshore immigration processing centres for asylum seekers.

The bill is making its way through Parliament, but with the parliamentary session expected to end within weeks, time is running out to pass it into law.

MPs are currently on a break, but when they return, they are due to review a series of amendments, including one about powers to offshore asylum claims.

The government has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords over the bill, which has come in for criticism and sparked protests.

Labour and the SNP have opposed offshoring asylum claims, and the UN's high commissioner for refugees said the practice "would be a breach of the UK's international obligations".

The plan to process asylum seekers abroad was first reported by the Times newspaper last year.

The newspaper said the Home Office had discussed the proposals with their counterparts in Denmark, which has passed legislation allowing it to relocate asylum seekers to countries outside Europe.

'More suffering'
Human rights campaigners have been critical of the plan around its impact on the human rights of refugees, the cost of the scheme and questioned whether it will even achieve its aims.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the proposal would not "address the reasons why people take perilous journeys to find safety in the UK".

He said the scheme would "only lead to more human suffering, chaos and at huge expense of an estimated £1.4bn a year".

British Red Cross executive director Zoe Abrams said the humanitarian community was "profoundly concerned" about plans to "send traumatised people halfway round the world".

Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK's Refugee and Migrant Rights Director, described the plan as "shockingly ill-conceived idea" which will inflict further suffering and waste "huge amounts" of public money".

Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the policy "would cost the UK taxpayer billions of pounds during a cost of living crisis and would make it harder not easier to get fast and fair asylum decisions".

Alistair Carmichael, home affairs spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, said the UK had a proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need.

"Thousands of families are opening their homes to refugees, but this Conservative Government is slamming the door in their face," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
×