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Asylum Seekers: Removal to Rwanda
13 June 2022
Lead MP
Tom Pursglove
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
Asylum & RefugeesMigrants & Borders
Other Contributors: 27
At a Glance
Tom Pursglove raised concerns about asylum seekers: removal to rwanda in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
Our world-leading migration and economic development partnership with Rwanda is a global first aimed at tackling illegal immigration. Rwanda, recognised as safe and secure, will process asylum claims for individuals relocated there. This initiative forms part of our reform to address the broken asylum and migration system. Despite ongoing legal challenges, we comply fully with our legal obligations. The policy aims to offer new opportunities for those relocated to Rwanda while focusing support on those most in need. Inaction is not an option when people are drowning and criminals profit from human suffering. This plan seeks to stop people smugglers by preventing individuals from choosing a preferred destination through illicit means. Uncontrolled immigration strains public services, necessitating long-term solutions rather than immediate fixes. The Government's aim is to overhaul the asylum system comprehensively.
Stuart McDonald
SNP
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
Question
This is not world-leading policy but rather shreds the refugee convention. It resembles state-sponsored trafficking and is a rushed political stunt to support the Prime Minister. Why was this flight organised before relevant provisions were enforced? The age assessment process is inadequate, risking children being sent to Rwanda. How can vulnerable individuals be accurately identified in basic screenings? Access to legal advice is crucial; how many lack it due to oversight bodies not yet established?
Minister reply
We disagree but have had numerous debates on this topic. Comparing our policy to human trafficking is incorrect and offensive. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children will not be transferred, with thorough screening processes in place. Legal advice access exists for those detained as usual. UNHCR places asylum seekers in Rwanda, indicating safety there. We comply fully with international obligations.
Tim Loughton
Con
East Worthing and Shoreham
Question
We met Albanians crossing safely to the UK despite Albania being a candidate EU country without major human rights abuses or war. We need practical solutions for those jumping refugee queues. The flights must start. Concerns remain about monitoring processes in Rwanda; when will details of the monitoring and scrutiny committee be shared?
Minister reply
The status quo is untenable with criminal gangs profiting from dangerous crossings. This partnership aims to stop such practices effectively. Monitoring arrangements will be detailed soon.
Yvette Cooper
Lab
Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
Question
The Home Office chaos over the last few days has shown why this scheme is completely unworkable, deeply unethical and extortionately expensive, and why it risks increasing criminal people trafficking and smuggling rather than solving the problem. The Home Office admits sending victims of torture to Rwanda; is the Minister happy with that shameful policy? Does Rwanda have capacity issues, caseworkers, translators or lawyers for cases; costs shooting up as UK taxpayer will fund more support in Rwanda; UNHCR warns on Rwanda’s record, 12 refugees shot dead. Is there a final figure on top of £120 million? NCA plans 20% cuts instead of strengthening with France to crack down on criminal gangs; only making half as many asylum decisions now compared to five years ago and offloading responsibility.
Minister reply
I think it would be helpful if the shadow Home Secretary were to think in the first place, because we have not had a credible Opposition policy to tackle this issue. This policy is going to work and will make a difference, shutting down criminal gangs while providing resettlement opportunities properly supported in Rwanda. Our approach is a world first, different from other proposals; UNHCR places refugees in Rwanda believing they will be safe and cared for. We support ongoing running costs equivalent to processing cases in UK asylum system. Want to deepen co-operation with friends and neighbours to tackle the global problem as it needs global solutions.
Question
I congratulate the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (Stuart C. McDonald) on getting the urgent question, but I will not congratulate him on the language that he used, or the shadow Home Secretary on the language that she used. Mixing up smugglers and traffickers shows little knowledge of the subject. Instead of booking 50 people to Rwanda, book 250 so we would still have a full flight when half are stopped from travelling.
Minister reply
I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s suggestion which I take on board. For obvious reasons, I am not in a position to comment on operational matters.
Diana R. Johnson
Lab
Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham
Question
It has been difficult to get clear information about the Rwanda scheme implementation. The Home Affairs Committee visited Dover last week to look at process of what happens to people who come across in small boats, aware some are immediately earmarked for the Rwanda scheme and detained. Confirm whether it is just adult males being processed for the Rwanda scheme? Guarantee no child will be sent to Rwanda when there is a dispute over their age?
Minister reply
I will not comment on operational matters or matters before the courts at the moment as that would be improper. I refer colleagues to previous comments made in the House, including that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children will not be transferred under the partnership.
Question
We all wish to end abusive people trafficking and dreadful journeys across the channel; Opposition’s only idea is letting in every economic migrant who wants to come. How much does it cost taxpayers in Britain to set up every economic migrant in decent circumstances when they arrive?
Minister reply
The costs associated with illegal migration are considerable and unsustainable, spending nearly £5 million a day on hotel accommodation in the asylum system cannot continue; new plan for immigration is in place to get it under control.
Clive Efford
Lab
Eltham
Question
The National Crime Agency has principal responsibility for prosecuting people traffickers. Is 20% cut in staffing at the NCA consistent with policy of taking back control of our borders?
Minister reply
Confident we will have resources needed to deliver on policies; had opportunity through the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 to vote for measures allowing tougher action on people smugglers, but refused.
Question
Many arrive from Iran because they converted to Christianity in a country where apostasy is punishable by death or life imprisonment. Is the Minister aware of Anglican faith practised in Rwanda; 12 million population with 85,000 regular churchgoers; welcome for those who wish to practise their Anglican faith?
Minister reply
There is a strong Christian faith practised in Rwanda. I was struck by that characteristic when visiting recently.
Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Question
The Rwanda deportation policy abhorrently denies refugees’ fundamental human right to seek asylum in UK; also denies us our right in Wales to offer support and solidarity to refugees. How does this unethical policy sit with aim of ensuring that asylum seekers are supported to rebuild their lives and make a full contribution to Welsh society?
Minister reply
What is abhorrent is people drowning in the channel; not acceptable to abdicate responsibility to stop criminality and risk to life. This is not deportation, but resettlement through safe and legal routes which we have generous available.
Julian Lewis
Con
New Forest East
Question
Does the Minister agree with Oxford’s professor of constitutional law, Richard Ekins, who wrote on Sunday that the Human Rights Act 1998 enabling courts to interpret legislation unreasonably contradicting will of Parliament? Will he revisit that legislation?
Minister reply
We believe there is a legal basis for this policy and that we will be compliant with our obligations under refugee convention and ECHR. Lord Chancellor taking forward programme of reform in relation to Human Rights Act.
Andrew Slaughter
Lab
Hammersmith and Chiswick
Question
How can the Minister say Rwanda is a safe country when 12 refugees protesting about cuts to food rations were shot dead by security forces in 2018? It is not lawyers, but courts that are finding his policy ultra vires. Should he not pause and rethink, rather than hurling abuse at anyone who points out its defects?
Minister reply
I am not going to get into a long and protracted debate with the hon. Gentleman. I have said plenty about this particular point previously. He will recognise that this matter is in front of the courts today. On that basis, it would be inappropriate for me to comment.
Question
There is nothing ethical whatever about allowing a system that encourages people smugglers across the English channel. Can I get an assurance from my hon. Friend the Minister that those facilitating the flights to Rwanda will not be hindered by misguided protesters or others with an agenda to stop this policy, which has been determined by this Parliament?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend can be reassured that Ministers believe the law must be upheld and that individuals with no right to be here should be able to be removed from our country without any barriers to that happening.
Olivia Blake
Lab
Sheffield Hallam
Question
The human beings who are on the flight tomorrow have, as the shadow Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), said, been through torture, abuse and horrific trauma. They deserve our compassion. What has the Department done to assess the needs and mental wellbeing of those being deported? Does the Minister regret that the joint partnership monitoring committee has not yet been set up and that there is no oversight of what is happening so far?
Minister reply
A proper screening process is in place that takes full account of the individual circumstances of those who are being considered for relocation to Rwanda. I cannot comment on individual cases for obvious reasons, but it is right that there is that proper screening process that takes proper account of the factors at play in each case.
Paul Holmes
Con
Hamble Valley
Question
The Secretary of State and Ministers should be congratulated on bringing in legislation that finally hinders illegal people smuggling, and the Opposition should be embarrassed, frankly, by their lack of a plan and blanket opposition to the policy. If lawyers continue to try to hinder the policy, will the Minister confirm that the Home Office will attempt to bring in any legislation necessary to see that the House’s—and the British people’s—wishes are carried through?
Minister reply
If I may, I will start by thanking my hon. Friend for all the work that he did as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Home Office, and for his help and support in delivering, in particular, the passage through the House of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. He will be reassured to know that, as the Prime Minister has said repeatedly, we will do whatever is necessary to deliver on this policy. We do not believe that failure is an option, because we must shut the evil criminal gangs down. That is what the British people want, that is what the British people expect and that is precisely what we are going to do.
Question
The British people expect a lot better from the Government than what is being offered. If there is no monitoring process in place as yet, when it is in place will the Minister guarantee to publish the types of people being deported to Rwanda and the conclusions of the monitoring committee, so that we can monitor the Government?
Minister reply
It is fair to say that the House never misses an opportunity to scrutinise Ministers—rightly, because that is an important feature of our parliamentary democracy and something that I recognise as important and appreciate the opportunity to do. I will set out more details of the arrangements in due course.
Question
Does my hon. Friend agree that millions of our fellow citizens voted in favour of Brexit and in support of this Government in 2019 to ensure that a Government would be in place to tackle illegal immigration and provide safe and secure borders? Whatever the plan may be, it is fulfilling a democratic mandate, and he should be congratulated on it.
Minister reply
My hon. Friend speaks passionately on behalf of his constituents who want a common-sense approach to these matters. The British people are fair and generous—we have seen that in the response to the crisis in Ukraine, with people throwing open their homes—but what they do not find acceptable is illegal immigration to our country with people taking great risks and abusing the asylum system in the process, which then disadvantages people who come here through safe and legal routes. That is not right, and we believe strongly that action needs to be taken. That is precisely what we will get on and do.
Question
If the Minister finds it so offensive that my colleague calls the Tory Rwanda scheme “state-sponsored trafficking”, what else would he call the act of shipping vulnerable people across the world against their will?
Minister reply
I certainly would not call it “state-sponsored trafficking”.
Question
Many Members on this side of the House have visited Rwanda on several occasions on a social action project, and we know it to be safe and secure. Does the Minister agree that those who object to this innovative scheme purely on the basis that the destination is Rwanda do the people and the Government of that country a disservice?
Minister reply
Some of the comments made in the last few weeks about the Rwandan Government and people have been appalling and completely misinformed. Some would even go so far as to say that it is deliberate scaremongering. We know the Rwandan people to be good, decent, generous people who have provided settlement and resettlement opportunities for many thousands of people in recent years. They want to continue that tradition, and they want to see global solutions to this evil criminality that we have seen, and to put our asylum system globally on a much more sustainable footing. We will work in partnership in that spirit.
Brendan O'Hara
SNP
Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber
Question
The thinking that seems to underpin this plan is that to deter the criminal, we must punish the victim twice. No wonder that over the weekend both the Moderator of the Church of Scotland and the Archbishop of Glasgow have condemned the plan as unchristian and immoral. If the policy is so well thought through, how is it being assessed, what are the scientific indicators of success and what plans are being put in place in the event that it fails to stop the people-trafficking boats?
Minister reply
The Government believe that as part of the wider, comprehensive new plan for immigration that we are delivering, this plan will have the effect of stopping these dangerous crossings of the channel—by small boat, for example. People are also coming across to the United Kingdom in the back of lorries, which is also highly dangerous. Effectively, the approach that the hon. Gentleman is advocating is just to throw our hands in the air, say it is all too difficult and do absolutely nothing. I am not willing to rest until we put those criminal gangs out of business. I believe that the approach that we are taking will make a meaningful difference in that regard.
Question
Stoke-on-Trent has done more than most when it comes to refugee resettlement, while other parts of the country—often those represented by Opposition Members—have done little to nothing. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is a bit rich for Opposition Members to suddenly oppose these plans, which would offer real deterrence and stop illegal immigration into this country?
Minister reply
I would argue that people in Stoke-on-Trent have been incredibly generous and big-hearted in the support and opportunities that they have provided in the community for people who have come to the UK, particularly those who are escaping conflict. But I think that although people in Stoke-on-Trent are generous, they are also—
Question
Can the Minister confirm what risk assessments were undertaken in advance of each individual being served with a notice? Was the risk of modern slavery considered as a key factor in the Court’s decision to overturn some notices?
Minister reply
It is fair to say that reports of modern slavery are taken into consideration as part of the processes. I will not comment in any further detail on operational matters, but I refer the hon. Lady to the published information out there around the process. It is publicly available.
Question
We are all too aware that the Labour party thinks that borders should be open and that anyone who wants border controls is a racist and a bigot; it made that perfectly clear with its attitude towards Brexit and towards the people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, which is why it was overwhelmingly rejected in 2019 and an entirely blue city was elected for the first time. The Minister must understand that the people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke want this Government—no matter what the leftie lawyers and the Opposition parties do or say—to carry on with this policy and deliver it, no matter whether there is one or 100 people. We must deliver for the people of this country.
Minister reply
I hope that I can reassure my hon. Friend by saying that we are determined to deliver this policy. I know full well that if we do not get on and deliver it, he will be very much on my back, which is not something that I particularly want to happen. We will strain every sinew to deliver this. It is what the British people have elected us to do and what they expect us to deliver, and we are going to get on and do it.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
I congratulate the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (Stuart C. McDonald) on securing this urgent question. A lot of media attention has focused on the human rights record of Rwanda and the threat that being sent to Rwanda poses to certain communities. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief, may I ask the Minister what assessment has been made of the threat facing those from religious or belief minority communities? What guarantees, if any, can be given as to the protection of religion or belief for all in Rwanda?
Minister reply
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the country information available out there. That is a comprehensive assessment of the situation, and it touches on these very issues. That work, I understand, is reputable and highly regarded in the judicial sphere as an accurate assessment of in-country situations. I certainly encourage him to have a look at it.
Mike Wood
Con
Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
Question
The BBC News website reported that the Court of Appeal has decided not to block flights to Rwanda this week. The Nationality and Borders Bill Committee supported allowing asylum claims processing in safe third countries, which was reaffirmed by the whole House. In deciding whether Rwanda is a safe country, does the Minister know of any other countries or international organisations using Rwanda for resettlement?
Minister reply
The Minister intends to read the judgment before commenting authoritatively but mentions that resettlement opportunities and support are provided through mechanisms such as the emergency transit mechanism involving the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Question
Immigration and police officers were prevented from upholding the law by protesters when trying to remove someone suspected of immigration offences. Will the Minister ensure that both the individual involved in committing potential breaches and the protesters will be held accountable? Is he as appalled as the MP at Labour councillors' involvement and Labour Members applauding the protesters?
Minister reply
The Minister affirms the importance of upholding the law, stressing that individuals without legal right to reside should be removed. He expresses his revulsion towards obstruction of lawful processes and will investigate further.
Question
As we reclaim control over our borders, the MP congratulates the Minister on persisting against opposition from left-leaning lawyers, unions, and charities abusing judicial processes. He mentions that this resistance stems from ignorance regarding Rwanda, suggesting even relocation to affluent countries would face similar opposition.
Minister reply
The Minister acknowledges individuals who advocate for open borders but insists on proper border controls and safe legal routes for immigration. He notes the Labour Government's past respect for these principles and pledges to enforce them.
Shadow Comment
Stuart McDonald
Shadow Comment
This policy does not lead or respect international conventions on refugees but instead resembles state-sponsored trafficking. It appears rushed without proper legal safeguards, with age assessment processes inadequate for identifying vulnerable individuals like children, torture survivors, and LGBT people within a brief interview. Legal advice access is crucial yet many scheduled for the flight lack it. No oversight committees are in place despite overwhelming legal opinion deeming this policy illegal. The Rwandan asylum system lacks capacity to handle additional cases effectively, suggesting smugglers will find new routes.
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