Revealed: Scrapped Rwanda Scheme Cost £700m Without Migrant Transfers, Tories Planned £10bn Spend

"Abandoned Rwanda plan totaled £700m in unprecedented taxpayer money squander, according to home secretary"

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper informed Members of Parliament that the £700m was used not for transporting migrants arriving by small boats to Rwanda, but on volunteers.

Political journalist @Journoamrogers

Monday, July 22, 2024, 5:

The former administration had allocated £10 billion for the abandoned Rwanda project, according to the home secretary.

Addressing the Commons, Yvette Cooper announced that £700 million of public funds had been allocated to the initiative, introduced by the Conservatives to discourage migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats.

Ms. Cooper criticized the plan that proposed relocating individuals who arrived via small boats to an African nation for processing, labeling it "the most egregious squandering of taxpayer funds that I have ever witnessed."

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The Home Secretary from the Labour Party stated that the £700 million already expended was not used for deporting migrants arriving via small boats to Rwanda, but instead on volunteers.

She stated: "Two years following the initiation by the former administration, I can confirm that it has expended £700 million of British taxpayers' money to dispatch merely four volunteers.

The expenses encompass £290 million in payments to Rwanda, hiring planes that remained grounded, holding numerous individuals in detention before letting them go, and compensating over a thousand government employees to manage the program.

"Sending four individuals on this project represents the most astonishing misuse of public funds I have ever witnessed."

She also mentioned, "The expenses are expected to rise moving forward."

"During the projected six-year period of the migration and economic development initiative, the former administration had allocated more than £10 billion of public funds for the program without informing parliament."

Shortly after taking office, the Labour Party quickly abolished the Rwanda plan, which they had consistently criticized as a costly and ineffective stunt.

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The administration had earlier revealed plans to redirect several tens of millions of pounds originally allocated for the program towards establishing a new Border Security Command (BSC). This initiative aims to combat the criminal networks responsible for orchestrating illegal crossings of the Channel.

Ms. Cooper has initiated a review of the financial aid provided to Rwanda, as the Labour government seeks to identify opportunities to either save or recover money that was allocated during the Conservative tenure.

Prior to the national vote, Sir Keir Starmer announced that his party plans to allocate approximately £75 million annually to a new border initiative, funds that would be redirected from a discontinued deportation scheme.

The prime minister has declared the previous Conservative government's proposal to deport asylum seekers to Africa as completely abandoned.

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Addressing Ms. Cooper in Parliament, ex-Home Secretary James Cleverly asserted that the Labour party had exacerbated the problem of small boat crossings during their brief tenure of two and a half weeks in office.

The shadow home secretary informed Members of Parliament, "It's clear to everyone, even the human traffickers, that the issue with small boats has escalated and will continue to deteriorate under Labour due to the absence of any deterrents."

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Mr. Clevery also voiced his disapproval of the government's decision to eliminate the program, stating: "With no secure third country available to send people back to who cannot be returned to their own countries, we must question, where does she plan to send those arriving from nations such as Afghanistan or Iraq, in Syria?"

Has she initiated discussions on repatriation deals with the Taliban, Iran's religious leaders, or Syria's Assad?

"If she isn't planning to deport those who came here on small boats to Rwanda, then which regional governments will she be transferring these individuals to?

"During my time in the government, we were shutting down hotels. I am curious about which local governments will host these asylum seekers. If it's not Rwanda, could it be Rochdale, Romford, or Richmond?"

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In the meantime, Ms. Cooper humorously mentioned to Mr. Cleverly previous claims that he had privately referred to the Rwanda proposal as "crazy."

She expressed skepticism, stating, "Sending just four volunteers to Rwanda will hardly deter anyone from anything, and the notion of spending £10 billion on what is essentially a fantasy, a fictitious scheme, rather than tackling the real work, is preposterous."

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Speaking about a potential Conservative leadership challenge when Rishi Sunak resigns, she commented, "I doubt he's sincere about his statements; it seems he's just articulating them for the sake of the leadership race.

"He lacks the strength to be honest with his party. He believed the entire Rwanda policy was absurd, yet he publicly defended it. It's simply not credible."

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