The United Kingdom and Rwanda have agreed to a new treaty to deport asylum seekers who arrive in the UK via the English Channel to Rwanda, after the UK Supreme Court ruled that the previous deportation policy was unlawful.
UK Home Secretary, James Cleverly, signed off the new agreement to deter people from arriving in the UK in small boats amid a deafening clamor from the Tory backbenchers at the scale of immigration, legal and illegal.
Speaking during a press conference in Kigali, James Cleverly said the treaty addresses all the issues raised by the judges in the Supreme Court.
He added that the government is committed to breaking the operation of the people-smuggling gangs, to create a safe and welcoming environment with the country’s friends and partners in Rwanda.
The Home Office says the new deal includes a guarantee from Rwanda authorities that they will not remove anyone who arrives from Britain.
The original £140 million deportation scheme, signed almost eighteen months ago, was declared unlawful by the Supreme Court in June 2023.
The court ruled that Rwanda was not a safe country as those flown there could be sent back to their country of origin, a practice known as “refoulement”.
Home Secretary Cleverly and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are hoping to get emergency legislation into the Commons within days to avoid the scheme being thwarted by the courts.
