Downing Street has defended the decision to abandon the “gimmick” Rwanda deportation scheme amid growing concerns that the EU might take over the plan. The Home Secretary has called for a summit aimed at dismantling smuggling gangs operating in the Channel, addressing the crisis with renewed focus and urgency.
Labour has defended the decision to terminate the £290 million Rwanda deportations scheme, following Germany’s proposal that the EU take over the facilities funded by UK taxpayers to manage its own unwanted migrants. Downing Street criticized the scheme, implemented by the previous Conservative administration, as an “expensive gimmick,” intensifying the political debate surrounding one of Keir Starmer’s initial actions as Prime Minister.
Recently, it was reported that Berlin’s migration commissioner, Joachim Stamp, has suggested that individuals who enter the EU illegally via Poland’s border with Belarus could be deported to Rwanda.
Germany’s proposal involves using hostels funded by British taxpayers, which Rwanda has refused to refund, to accommodate migrants entering the EU.
As this debate unfolds, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to chair a summit today focused on dismantling the criminal gangs involved in smuggling people across the Channel. This follows the deadliest crossing of the year, where at least 12 individuals died after gangs overloaded a dinghy with over 70 people.
The summit will bring together senior ministers, National Crime Agency (NCA) officials, and intelligence services.
In response to Labour’s decision to scrap the Rwanda scheme, Tory leadership frontrunner Robert Jenrick criticized the move, arguing that it abandoned “the one credible deterrent” against Channel migrant boats. Jenrick told Sky News, “Yvette Cooper will meet the National Crime Agency and police chiefs today, and they’ll reiterate that while this work is important, it is not enough. There must be a deterrent.”
