UK closer to passing Sunak’s Rwanda asylum law after changes overturned

This would still mean it could be weeks, at the earliest, before any deportation flights leave for Rwanda. While the bill seeks to prevent British courts hearing arguments based on whether Rwanda is a safe country, anyone selected for removal may still be able to lodge individual legal appeals.

Sunak has invested significant amounts of political capital in the Rwanda policy and hopes if deportation flights leave before an election expected later this year, it will help reverse the fortunes of his Conservative Party which is heavily trailing in opinion polls.

By sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, the government wants to deter people from making the dangerous journey across the Channel so it can reduce the cost of housing them. Such costs are currently running at about £3 billion (US$3.8 billion) a year.

UK’s Sunak survives knife-edge vote as Rwanda bill clears Commons

The government envisages sending thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda although the East African country only has the capacity to house a few hundred at the moment.

Sunak said on Monday the government remained committed to sending flights to Rwanda “in the spring”, and his spokesperson told reporters that officials had identified people who would be on the first deportation flights.

Earlier this month, parliament’s spending watchdog, in the most detailed estimate of the cost of the plan, said it would cost more than £600 million (US$764 million) to deport and look after the first 300 asylum seekers sent to Rwanda.

The final cost of the plan could reach up to £3.9 billion over five years, according to an estimate published by the Institute for Public Policy Research on Monday.

Темы и теги

Руанда Путешествия и География

Великобритания закон беженство перемена принятие депортационный ранний неделя самый