Rwanda’s government said on Tuesday its controversial migration deal with Britain did not include a refund, after Britain’s new government decided to scrap the scheme.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared on Saturday that a plan by the ousted Conservative government to deport refugees to an East African country was “dead and buried”.
London has already paid 240 million pounds ($307 million) to Kigali since former Prime Minister Boris Johnson first announced the plan in April 2022, while multiple legal challenges in Britain over the scheme never took off.
“The agreement we signed did not have a condition that we had to return the money,” Rwanda’s deputy government spokesman Alain Mukurlinda told state television on Tuesday.
“Let me make it clear that returning the money was never part of the agreement.”
Mukurlinda said Britain had approached Rwanda to request a partnership, which was “extensively discussed.”
“The agreement went to court and was amended based on court findings,” he said.
The controversial plan has faced ongoing legal challenges, and in November last year the UK Supreme Court ruled that the plan was illegal under international law.
However, earlier this year, Sunak passed a bill through parliament to recognise Rwanda as a safe country, removing an obstacle to flights despite concerns over human rights laws.
“The matter went to Parliament and eventually became a treaty between the two countries. The treaty has a provision for an exit clause,” Mukurlinda said.
Starmer cancels the plan
The Labour Party said ahead of the July 4 election that it would abandon the plan, which the Conservative government said was designed to stop large numbers of migrants trying to reach Britain by crossing the Channel on boats from northern France.
Following the left-wing party’s landslide victory earlier this month, Starmer announced in his first press conference that the scheme would be scrapped.
“The Rwanda plan was over and buried before it even started,” he told reporters.
“I’m not prepared to continue making moves that won’t work as a deterrent.”
Starmer has previously said Sunak’s policy is neither preventative nor value for money, pledging instead to tackle the issue at the “top” level by dismantling the people smuggling gangs behind the crossings.
Immigration has become a central political issue since Britain’s departure from the European Union in 2020, largely due to promises to “take back control” of the country’s borders.
Rwanda, home to 13 million people in Africa’s Great Lakes region, claims to be one of the continent’s most stable countries and receives praise for its modern infrastructure.
But human rights groups have accused veteran President Paul Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and freedom of expression.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
