The fact a failed asylum seeker volunteered to go to Rwanda demonstrates that claims the country is not safe are “untrue”, Kemi Badenoch has said.
The business secretary also declared there is no “cost-free option” on border security, as she defended the “minimal” price tag of sending migrants there.
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An unnamed man was sent on a commercial flight to Rwanda on Monday after being offered up to £3,000 in financial aid to help with relocation costs.
He is the first person to have moved to the east African country under a voluntary returns scheme for those who have gone through the asylum process and had permission to stay in the UK rejected.
This voluntary scheme, which was widened to include Rwanda earlier this year, is separate from the government’s controversial plan to forcibly deport those arriving via small boats in the English Channel to the African country – a policy that came into law last week following two years of setbacks.
Critics have branded the voluntary removal an “extortionate pre-election gimmick” and a “con” that “won’t stop the boats”.
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More than half of asylum seekers allocated for removal to Rwanda cannot be found, according to government’s own report
However, speaking on Sky News, Ms Badenoch sought to paint it as a victory for the government’s wider migration policy, saying: “I’m pleased that we’ve finally seen one person going to Rwanda.
‘People are volunteering to go’
“Yes, this is under the voluntary scheme, but this also shows the point about Rwanda not being safe to be untrue because people are volunteering to go.”
Ms Badenoch later told Times Radio that the voluntary removal of the first failed asylum seeker to Rwanda should be “trumpeted”.
Defending the money spent on the removal, she said there is “no cost-free option” to protecting the UK’s borders, adding: “If we were not sending people there even at this minimal cost I would be accused, for example, of the very high cost of keeping people in this country.”
While no one has been deported under the other scheme, she insisted the plan was “working” as a deterrent, pointing to recent comments made by the Irish government.
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The Irish government has complained that the threat of deportation is driving migrants across the border into the republic and has called on the UK to take them back.
The flagship policy was first announced two years ago, with flights expected to start in the summer after a law aimed at making the policy legally sound, and declaring the nation as safe, was given Royal Assent last week.
MIgrants’ disappearing act
However, it is not clear how many people could be removed ahead of the general election, as more than half of the asylum seekers allocated for removal to Rwanda cannot be found by the Home Office, according to the government’s own impact assessment.
Ms Badenoch was unable to give a figure when asked by Sky News.
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The news of the failed asylum seeker’s removal comes ahead of what is expected to be a testing set of local and mayoral elections for Rishi Sunak across England and Wales, in which the Conservatives are likely to suffer heavy losses.
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The prime minister has made “stopping the boats” one of his five pledges to the public,
‘Pre-election gimmick’
Speaking last night, Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said: “The Tories are so desperate to get any flight off to Rwanda before the local elections that they have now just paid someone to go.
“British taxpayers aren’t just forking out £3,000 for a volunteer to board a plane, they are also paying Rwanda to provide him with free board and lodgings for the next five years. This extortionate pre-election gimmick is likely to be costing on average £2m per person.”
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: “Don’t be conned by this new government spin on the Rwanda deal.
“This African man, who did not even cross the Channel, was refused asylum and has voluntarily accepted £3,000 and free board.
“It won’t stop the boats.”
