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Global Migration Challenge
19 April 2022
Lead MP
Priti Patel
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
Asylum & RefugeesMigrants & BordersForeign AffairsLocal Government
Other Contributors: 60
At a Glance
Priti Patel raised concerns about global migration challenge 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
The United Kingdom has welcomed over 185,000 people through safe and legal routes in recent years. However, the government faces unsustainable pressures from illegal migration which costs taxpayers nearly £5 million daily due to hotel accommodation for asylum seekers alone. The Nationality and Borders Bill aims to break the business model of criminal smuggling networks by deterring illegal entry and increasing fairness in accessing the UK's asylum system based on genuine need rather than paying smugglers. Key measures include dispersing asylum seekers across local authorities, building reception centres like the one at Linton-on-Ouse, and a partnership with Rwanda to relocate individuals who arrive illegally via dangerous routes. This partnership is intended to protect lives, deter people smuggling, and provide support for those in genuine need of protection through education, employment training, and integration assistance.
Mark Pawsey
Con
Rugby
Question
The MP asks the Home Secretary about whether the Rwandan agreement will be part of the Nationality and Borders Bill, seeking clarity on its legal obligations and how they align with international standards.
Minister reply
The Rwanda partnership is a bespoke international agreement compatible with all domestic and international legal obligations. It adheres to United Nations conventions on refugees and human rights. The policy aims to address illegal migration, protect lives, and provide fair support for those in genuine need.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
The MP questions the Home Secretary regarding how the proposed changes will affect individuals seeking asylum through legal routes and whether they might be treated differently or face additional challenges under new policies.
Minister reply
This Government are committed to supporting those in genuine need of protection. The reforms aim to improve access for those directly fleeing oppression, persecution, and tyranny via safe and legal routes while deterring illegal entry.
David Burrowes
Con
Enfield, Southgate
Question
The MP inquires about the Home Secretary's plans for supporting local authorities affected by increased asylum seeker influx as a result of dispersal policies and how these changes will be implemented without causing undue strain.
Minister reply
A nationwide dispersal system will ensure more equitable distribution of asylum pressures across local authorities. The Government are committed to providing support and assistance to help manage this transition.
Wera Hobhouse
Lib Dem
St Austell and Newquay
Question
The MP challenges the Home Secretary on her justification for the Rwanda policy, citing concerns about its impact on individuals' rights and whether it aligns with the UK’s international obligations in terms of asylum seekers’ treatment.
Minister reply
This partnership is a step towards making the global immigration system fairer. It protects lives by deterring dangerous routes and provides support for those who need protection, consistent with international standards.
Yvette Cooper
Lab
Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
Question
The Home Secretary's policies are unworkable, unethical and extortionate in their cost to the British taxpayer. There was no information provided about the costs today, with £120 million announced not covering a single person transfer; it is merely the price for a press release. This policy may cost up to £30,000 per person for three months' accommodation, which is three times more than ordinary asylum case costs in the UK. The Home Secretary should admit that this policy will make trafficking worse and harder to prosecute traffickers due to lack of deterrence against criminal gangs.
Minister reply
The statement was predictable but important, as we cannot put a price on saving human lives. When I was previously a Minister in the Blair Government, similar policies were implemented without such outrage. The policy is legal and based on delivery. The opposition lacks an alternative to deal with people-trafficking and deaths in the channel.
Theresa May
Con
West Divis
Question
Does my right hon. Friend agree that families will not be broken up as part of this policy? If so, where is her evidence that this will not lead to an increase in the trafficking of women and children?
Minister reply
I am happy to meet my right hon. Friend to discuss further details on this issue. The Memorandum of Understanding published clearly outlines legalities and nature of agreement, respecting criteria used by smuggling gangs to exploit laws.
Stuart McDonald
SNP
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
Question
This is a cruel and catastrophic policy. It will not hurt smugglers but will further seriously harm people who have fled persecution. The international system of refugee protection will be damaged, and the UK’s reputation for upholding international law will suffer. This policy goes beyond temporary offshoring by completely avoiding responsibility. The UNHCR and Refugee Council condemn this policy as nothing short of cash-for-deportations. Despite 85% of refugees being in developing or least developed countries, wealthy Britain is offering money to take more. The only transparency is the dodgy timing and political motivation. The Home Secretary should publish a detailed estimate of costs for proper transparency.
Minister reply
Rwanda has successfully resettled over 130,000 refugees. It is shameful to make slurs on Rwanda's efforts. Everyone will be screened and interviewed with access to legal advice, decisions made on a case-by-case basis.
Gary Sambrook
Con
Hyndburn
Question
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the partnership with Rwanda will reduce reliance on hotels and small boat crossings?
Minister reply
Yes, we do not want people in hotel accommodation; it is a cheap point for Opposition Members to make but necessary during the pandemic per Public Health England guidance.
Diana R. Johnson
Lab
Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham
Question
Who will be eligible to be sent to Rwanda? Will it be single young men or women and children? What percentage of asylum seekers does she think will be sent to Rwanda?
Minister reply
Everyone considered for relocation will be screened, interviewed, have access to legal advice on a case-by-case basis. This policy applies to people inadmissible to the UK’s asylum system and who come illegally.
Kevin Hollinrake
Con
Thirsk and Malton
Question
Will she meet me to discuss concerns regarding the RAF base in Linton-on-Ouse, my constituency?
Minister reply
Absolutely; I am happy to meet him to further discuss this decision.
Diane Abbott
Ind
Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Question
How does she come to know better than a former Home Office permanent secretary who said her Rwanda policy is inhumane, morally reprehensible, probably unlawful and unworkable?
Minister reply
First, I am surprised that the right hon. Lady uses Sir David’s name in vain; things have moved on regarding the asylum system. Her party votes against immigration reforms but has no plan to deal with these issues.
Andrew Mitchell
Con
Sutton Coldfield
Question
Does she accept that many of us have grave concerns that the policy simply will not work? Will she confirm that military aircraft will not be used for removals and ensure costs per asylum seeker are known before voting?
Minister reply
We will not use military planes; we remove failed asylum seekers and foreign national offenders following a whole process involving operational work and detail.
Clive Efford
Lab
Eltham
Question
Has she negotiated a cap on the cost of this arrangement with Rwanda? What will be the cost per person sent?
Minister reply
There is an upfront £120 million development cost and payments made accordingly once people are removed to Rwanda.
Andrea Leadsom
Con
South Northamptonshire
Question
I am incredibly proud of this country and this Government’s track record in providing a safe welcome to more than 185,000 asylum seekers and refugees since 2015. What I find abhorrent and inexplicable is the way in which many Opposition Members have forgotten the images of children lying drowned on our beaches.
Minister reply
The Home Secretary thanked Andrea Leadsom for her comments and emphasised that the Government's work includes bringing people over through the Homes for Ukraine scheme. She also criticised those who preach compassion but fail to act decisively in protecting human life.
Stella Creasy
Lab Co-op
Walthamstow
Question
Does she intend one of the criteria that prevents somebody from being sent to Rwanda to be their being under 18? Where will the processing and decision making as to whether or not somebody is under 18 take place?
Minister reply
Operational decisions are for officials on the ground, and the Home Secretary emphasised this process should be respected.
Peter Bone
Con
Wantage
Question
This is about evil gangs being paid money to take people across the channel. The only way we are going to stop the people smuggling is if we reduce the demand for it, and the Home Secretary’s Rwanda policy is absolutely right.
Minister reply
Priti Patel agreed with Peter Bone that there is a significant difference between people trafficking and smuggling, and she emphasised the need to break up the business model of these gangs.
Orkney and Shetland
Question
Will the Home Secretary tell the House how many people she expects to send to Rwanda in the first 12 months of the scheme?
Minister reply
The answer is yes; the scheme is uncapped, as negotiated with the Rwandan Government.
David Davis
Con
Goole and Pocklington
Question
What are the Government going to do from an ethical and moral point of view and to protect the British taxpayer against compensation claims?
Minister reply
The partnership with Rwanda includes support, technical expertise, education, training, and care in terms of individuals’ health and resettlement needs.
Paula Barker
Lab
Liverpool Wavertree
Question
Such an approach weakens the very foundation of the 1951 refugee convention and contradicts steps agreed to by the UK upon signing up to the global compact on refugees. What legal assurances did the Government seek?
Minister reply
Rwanda is a safe country where over 100,000 refugees have been resettled. Both the UNHCR and EU deem it safe.
Question
Does the Home Secretary agree that there is both a moral and financial responsibility to bring small boat crossings to an end?
Minister reply
Priti Patel agreed, emphasising the dispersal policy's importance for fairness in legal immigration routes.
Question
However, on at least two occasions only last year, the United Kingdom called for an investigation at the United Nations into torture, deaths in custody, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in Rwanda. Was that a slur by the UK?
Minister reply
Under this agreement, Rwanda will process claims according to international laws. Over 130,000 refugees have been resettled there, and both UNHCR and EU have resettled individuals.
Question
Can she tell me how she can assume that a set of criteria to determine claims is likely to be free from legal challenge if the criteria are not published and transparently available?
Minister reply
The legislation for the new plan for immigration includes a one-stop shop for courts and tribunals, stopping the merry-go-round of appeals which slow down case processing.
Hilary Benn
Lab
Leeds South
Question
On the basis of what evidence has the Home Secretary concluded that this policy of forcing some asylum seekers on to planes to Rwanda will have a deterrent effect on people getting into boats to cross the channel?
Minister reply
This is exactly what is required to break up the evil people-smuggling gangs. France is considered a safe country.
Lee Anderson
Reform
Ashfield
Question
In the interests of safety, can the Home Secretary confirm that if anybody does not want to go to Rwanda, they can claim asylum in France?
Minister reply
France is a safe country.
Question
The Home Secretary has been pressed several times on who will be included or excluded from the scheme and whether it includes women and children. If she knows how many people will be included in the scheme, surely she knows what the criteria are?
Minister reply
We have made clear that we are bringing in reforms to stop illegal trade by creating safe routes for women, children and families.
Question
What reassurance can my right hon. Friend give that she will continue to develop safe and legal routes for those people who have been left in refugee camps around the world?
Minister reply
We resettled over 180,000 people through safe and legal routes—more than any Government in recent years.
Question
The Home Secretary will know that Israel introduced a similar scheme but abandoned it. Can she tell us why she believes her approach will succeed?
Minister reply
This is a different scheme and not comparable to other countries' schemes.
Question
Does the Home Secretary agree that a fair immigration policy should not rely on someone’s ability to pay or whether they are young enough to attempt the journey?
Minister reply
It is right that we go after individuals responsible for people smuggling and stop these routes being viable.
Meg Hillier
Lab Co-op
Hackney South and Shoreditch
Question
The permanent secretary at the Home Office concluded that he could not tell whether this was value for money. Can she answer why the people traffickers will still make money even if some are deterred?
Minister reply
We have a responsibility to find solutions and we disagree with Opposition Members who just sit on the sidelines carping.
Desmond Swayne
Con
New Forest West
Question
Has the Home Secretary a plan to prevent potential emigrants from absconding before they can be sent to Rwanda?
Minister reply
Issues such as absconding will impact how their asylum claim is viewed and treated.
Sammy Wilson
DUP
East Antrim
Question
If only a very small percentage of those processed are sent to Rwanda, will not the people smugglers still be able to argue that it's worth handing money over?
Minister reply
We want to stop this upstream and target gangs in other countries.
Question
Does she agree that there is nothing moral at all about a system that perpetuates evil people-smuggling and puts a disproportionate burden on constituencies such as mine?
Minister reply
We have to work with international partners to break the model of people smuggling.
Janet Daby
Lab
Lewisham East
Question
The Secretary of State believes that this policy is about protecting people, when we all know it is harmful. This policy will also cost UK taxpayers billions of pounds.
Minister reply
Doing nothing is not an option when people are dying in the channel.
Edward Leigh
Con
Gainsborough
Question
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the un-godly thing to do would be to have a mass drowning of children this winter?
Minister reply
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right.
Jeremy Corbyn
Ind
Islington North
Question
Is it not a moral requirement for the Home Secretary to explain why she will deport people who have arrived in this country, fleeing from desperate wars, famine and problems, prepared to risk all to cross a dangerous sea? Do they not deserve a sense of humanity from the Home Secretary, and not to be deported to incarceration in Rwanda?
Minister reply
Again, I refer to the tone in which the right hon. Gentleman refers to our partners in Rwanda, which frankly I think is quite questionable. I remind him and all Members of the House that France, alongside many other EU member states, is a safe country, and those travelling to the United Kingdom by making illegal and dangerous crossings that put their lives at risk could and should claim asylum there first.
David Simmonds
Con
Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner
Question
Given that three quarters of child asylum seekers who come to the UK are boys aged 16 or 17, what assurance can my right hon. Friend give me that the age assessment process will be fully completed before they become eligible for removal from the United Kingdom?
Minister reply
The House will be very well aware of the new age assessment work that will come forward under the Nationality and Borders Bill. This is important and serious work that is taking place right now to provide assurance about the age of those youngsters coming to our country and claiming asylum.
Stephen Doughty
Lab Co-op
Cardiff South and Penarth
Question
The Home Secretary has been repeatedly asked this afternoon about the costs of this totally wrong policy. She said that she knew the costs involved in chartering aircraft from examples of our existing removals scheme, so can she tell us today what the cost will be of chartering one return flight to Rwanda and what the cost will be per person deported? Will she admit that this policy will cost far in excess of the £120 million that she said was just for development costs?
Minister reply
First of all, the hon. Gentleman is absolutely wrong. The costs of removing individuals are marginal compared with the long-term cost of housing people with no legal basis to be in this country and the wider cost to society through our public services, healthcare, and housing.
Question
May I commend my right hon. Friend on the proposals she has announced today, which offer the real prospect of breaking the business model of the people smugglers? Is it not the case that if anyone should be coming in for criticism, whether from this side of the Thames or the other, it should be those who are plying that disgusting trade and not those who are seeking to disrupt it?
Minister reply
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right, and this should be a moment of reflection for all colleagues when it comes to those who thwart the removal of those with no legal basis to be in the country on the cost to the public purse and hard-pressed British taxpayers.
Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Question
Global Britain used to be a byword for bad trade deals; now it is an excuse to outsource our asylum system to Rwanda. Of course, we all stand with the people of Ukraine in their fight to repel one dictator, but the Home Secretary is yoking the UK’s reputation to another. The Welsh and Scottish Governments have long asked for talks on a solution and on the establishment of safe routes for refugees. Did she engage with those two Governments, or does she only talk with dictators?
Minister reply
The right hon. Lady will be very well aware of the engagement that has taken place in Government on our safe and legal route for Ukrainian nationals coming over to the United Kingdom, including discussions across the devolved Administrations.
Question
My right hon. Friend has highlighted the opening of a reception centre at the former RAF base at Linton-on-Ouse, located between Harrogate and York. Can she give us a bit more information about that—for example, when might it open, what is its capacity and how many local jobs will be created?
Minister reply
The centre will be opening in the next six weeks. Work has been undertaken for several months on the development of the site, including capacity at the site and all the various measures required for housing and accommodation for asylum seekers.
Chi Onwurah
Lab
Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West
Question
Between 2015 and 2020, the number of asylum applications decided early stayed constant at about 30,000 but the proportion decided within the Secretary of State’s six-month target plummeted from 80% to 17%, despite doubling the number of caseworkers. Is it not the truth that her asylum processing system is broken—sending refugees to Rwanda will not fix that—and that she is using those fleeing from the worst atrocities of war as a shield for her incompetence?
Minister reply
The asylum system is completely broken, and I am changing it with the Nationality and Borders Bill, which includes turning around asylum decision making in a faster way through digitalisation of the process.
Question
Ever since this policy was announced over the bank holiday weekend, we have heard some very strong rhetoric from the Opposition parties, leaning into some very lazy tropes about Africa and dripping with European exceptionalism. Can I ask my right hon. Friend whether she agrees with me in condemning that kind of language when talking about Rwanda, and can I advise her to keep on this course because when I was talking to my constituents over the weekend, the one phrase everyone was using was “not before time”?
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. Some of the tone used—not just in this House but more broadly—about our partnership with Rwanda is quite xenophobic and deeply egregious.
Question
Recently my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) joined many others throughout this statement in asking for evidence that this policy could possibly work in some way or another. In each case the right hon. Lady has declined to provide that evidence, so will she put in the Library of the House of Commons all the internal Government advice she has received on the legality, workability and cost of the scheme? That way at least we will be able to assess what the evidence-base is.
Minister reply
I refer to the comments I made earlier on the legal and legislative basis, which was put in place under the previous Labour Government. Indeed, this scheme and proposal were also looked at under the previous Labour Government.
Question
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and believe that the policy will work. Will my right hon. Friend explain what the successful implementation of her policy will look like on the ground, and in particular what impact she believes it will have on the number of vulnerable people willing to put their lives in the hands of ruthless people traffickers to gain illegal entry to our country?
Minister reply
One answer will be in the policy working and the removal of people to Rwanda. It will also be in overcoming many of the obstacles and hurdles, including legal and other barriers we face in removing those with no legal basis to be in the United Kingdom.
Alison Thewliss
SNP
Glasgow Cheapside
Question
My constituents want none of this despicable plan. As the chair of the all-party group on immigration detention I went to Napier barracks. It is not fit for purpose: it is cold, bleak and lacking in dignity and privacy. Vulnerable people struggle to get medical, social and legal support but at least we could visit. Can the Home Secretary tell me how facilities in Rwanda will be scrutinised, particularly given that Human Rights Watch says of Rwanda: “Arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and torture in official and unofficial detention facilities is commonplace”?
Minister reply
I would be delighted to tell the hon. Lady how accommodation facilities in Kigali in Rwanda will be scrutinised. That is part of the monitoring work the Home Office and technical officials have established and is part of the memorandum of understanding—as if she has read the details in the MOU. Secondly, the hon. Lady’s characterisation of Napier is grossly wrong.
Woodford
Question
Does the Home Secretary agree that no one would spend thousands of pounds to go to one country and end up in another and that this policy will be a deterrent, which will save lives and save the taxpayer money?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is a voice of common sense on this, primarily because we want that deterrent effect—there is no doubt about that—and in addition we want to go after the individuals who have been profiteering for decades and decades from the human misery of people smuggling.
Afzal Khan
Lab
Manchester Rusholme
Question
Given that many Rwandans seek and are granted asylum here in the UK, how can the Home Secretary possibly tell the House with a straight face that Rwanda is a safe country to send people seeking asylum to?
Minister reply
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the comments I made earlier on Rwanda: Rwanda is a safe country and I think his tone on Rwanda as a country and our partnership is unjustifiable and insulting.
Craig Mackinlay
Con
South West Norfolk
Question
It seems to me that some actively celebrate the porosity of the French border. That weakness has seen 28,000 irregular crossings, a huge number of appalling deaths and a trade that is bigger than the drugs trade. Contrast that with my right hon. Friend’s new policy, which will normalise proper immigration rules, taking people to safe countries for proper processing in the right way. Can she understand my confusion that people are not celebrating this new policy?
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend for his support and his comments. As I said earlier, I think the Opposition should just be honest about their position. They clearly stand for open borders; they do not believe in controlled immigration.
Rachael Maskell
Lab Co-op
York Central
Question
When somebody is trafficked or smuggled into the UK, and then determines that they do not want to be deported to Rwanda, what steps will she take to uphold their rights under the Refugee Convention?
Minister reply
As I said earlier, there is a difference between trafficking cases and those who have been smuggled through the people smuggling routes. When it comes to cases of trafficking, we have all the legal bases to provide support and to go after the traffickers for the abuses that they have committed.
David Morris
Con
Morecambe and Lunesdale
Question
People smuggling does not start at Calais; it can go through five different countries before people get to Calais. Then we have the abhorrence of people drowning in the Channel. I understand the concerns of the House about sending people to Rwanda, but we have one champion in the House who sadly is not in his place at this moment in time. When he was the shadow Secretary of State for International Development and became the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) had a lot to do with Rwanda and he has the utmost respect from their Government. Will my right hon. Friend utilise his talents and use him in some ambassadorial way to allay the fears of Members of this House?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend makes some very important points, particularly about the country of Rwanda. Those of us in this House who know Rwanda well—I put that in the context of some of the ignorance that has been shown today—and know about the incredible work of the Rwandan Government through difficult times more recently, know how they have become almost Africa’s voice on the international stage.
Chris Matheson
Lab
Glais
Question
May I challenge this lazy and probably sexist assumption that all young men are economic migrants? Does the Home Secretary not understand that in conflict situations—especially civil wars, whether in Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Ethiopia or Sudan—one side will come to a town or village and either press gang all the young men to fight for them or kill them and then the other side will come and do exactly the same? These young men are not economic migrants but people trying to flee a war they want nothing to do with.
Minister reply
That is exactly why we are proposing safe and legal routes, as we have done with Syria and Afghanistan. These are bespoke routes that help those fleeing persecution.
Jerome Mayhew
Con
Broadland and Fakenham
Question
The EU uses Rwanda for refugee settlement. The United Nations uses Rwanda for refugee settlement. Even the Labour Government legislated to use safe third countries to process asylum claims. Given this, does my right hon. Friend agree that exactly the same approach lies behind this partnership with Rwanda?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It goes without saying that it seems to be fine, depending on your political persuasion, to say it is fine for the EU, it is fine for the UN, but it is not fine for the British Government.
Nia Griffith
Lab
Llanelli
Question
We know that two-thirds of migrants arriving by dangerous routes have a legitimate claim for asylum. On the remainder, can the Home Secretary please tell us what new agreement she has struck with the top five countries of origin for economic migrants in respect of returning migrants, improving visa application processes and tackling people smuggling at source?
Minister reply
Well, of course, tackling people smugglers at source is exactly what our country and Government are leading on right now. We are leading on that work with our intelligence and security partners.
Jack Brereton
Con
Stoke-on-Trent North
Question
I very much welcome measures that will offer a proper deterrent to those who are seeking to come to this country illegally. I also particularly welcome action to ensure that people are dispersed more fairly right across the country. Does my right hon. Friend agree that for far too long areas like Stoke-on-Trent have taken far more than their fair share and that it is about time other parts of the country did their part?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I pay tribute to Stoke Council and to all parliamentary colleagues from Stoke-on-Trent who have made representations over a long period of time many, many times with great strength and feeling.
Paul Blomfield
Lab
Sheffield Central
Question
Can I try to get a clear answer to the question that others have asked? The Home Office factsheet on this proposal explains: “Every person who comes to the UK illegally, or by dangerous or unnecessary methods…will be considered for relocation to Rwanda.” The Home Secretary seemed to confirm that in her earlier comments. Will she confirm now that women and children who come to the UK through irregular routes fleeing conflict and repression will be eligible for transfer to Rwanda, and not just the adult men, as her Department briefed the media?
Minister reply
I will repeat what I said earlier on. Decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis and nobody will be removed if it is unsafe or inappropriate for them.
Jonathan Gullis
Con
Stoke-on-Trent South
Question
May I warmly congratulate my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on this fantastic policy which people overwhelmingly supported when they voted for Brexit in 2016 and when they overwhelmingly voted for the Conservative party in Stoke-on-Trent for the first time across the board? Does she agree with me that it is about time that other local authorities did their bit, particularly in Scotland, and that the north Islington wokerati are more than welcome to come to Stoke-on-Trent and explain why they oppose it? Perhaps they should send the hon. Member for Bury South (Christian Wakeford) to explain why.
Minister reply
I think it is fair to say that my hon. Friend has made a very powerful and compelling case for the dispersal policy, but equally for why doing nothing is no longer an issue when it comes to reform of the asylum system and to dealing with how we remove individuals with no legal basis to be in the UK.
Florence Eshalomi
Lab Co-op
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green
Question
I agree with the right hon. Member that our asylum system is broken and that the £5 million cost is too much. This includes people staying in hotels on South Lambeth Road in my constituency who are trying to help with their asylum claims. Many constituents worry about this policy, especially LGBT individuals fearing persecution in Rwanda. Can the Home Secretary guarantee that these people will be safe?
Minister reply
Absolutely—we can—and that was part of our negotiation with the Rwandan Government. It has been made very clear in the legal agreement between us.
Question
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the partnership with Rwanda is for people attempting to come to the UK illegally? Has she noticed, as I have, that despite criticism from Opposition Members, they fail to propose an alternative thought-through and responsible plan?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is the same party opposite that frequently writes letters to me to stop us removing people with no legal basis to be in the UK, including many foreign national offenders such as rapists, murderers, paedophiles—this speaks volumes about their commitment to protecting our country and British citizens.
Munira Wilson
Lib Dem
Twickenham
Question
Like me, the Home Secretary is a daughter of east African Indian immigrants who sought sanctuary in this country. Does she not feel a personal moral responsibility to extend generosity shown by British communities and provide further safe and legal routes for refugees instead of sending them to Rwanda?
Minister reply
When it comes to safe and legal routes, I hope that the hon. Lady will vote with the Government on the Nationality and Borders Bill, as this is exactly what we propose. We have brought 180,000 people to the United Kingdom under safe and legal routes and are committed to doing much more.
Shadow Comment
Yvette Cooper
Shadow Comment
The shadow Home Secretary criticises the policy as unworkable, unethical, and extortionate. The £120 million allocated is not for transferring individuals but covers costs like press releases. No detailed financial information was provided by the government on how much it would cost per person or what this year’s budget entails. Criticisms include that hotel costs have soared due to Home Office inefficiency in decision-making and failure to tackle criminal gangs effectively, leading to a decrease in prosecutions for human trafficking. The policy is seen as a distraction from years of failure and could worsen human smuggling while making it harder to prosecute traffickers.
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