Failed asylum plan

700 million pounds wasted on Rwanda pact

The plan was not successful in the UK.

(Bild: AFP/BENJAMIN CREMEL)

The British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has revealed the costs of the Rwanda asylum plans to date. The asylum pact signed with Rwanda by the former Conservative government has cost the taxpayer more than 700 million pounds (around 830 million euros).

Cooper described the program as "the most shocking waste of taxpayers' money I have ever seen". The new Labor government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped the asylum pact shortly after his party won the general election on July 4.

The agreement stipulated that people who entered the UK irregularly should no longer be given the opportunity to apply for asylum in the country. Instead, they were to be brought to Rwanda regardless of their origin and apply for asylum there. A return to the UK was not planned.

Costing millions without a single deportation
This was intended to prevent people from making the dangerous crossing across the English Channel in small boats. However, human rights organizations doubted the alleged deterrent effect. There were never any actual deportations to Rwanda as part of the asylum pact.

The European Court of Human Rights stopped a planned flight in summer 2022 at the last moment. The British Supreme Court later declared the plan unlawful. Rwanda could not be considered a safe country for refugees, the judges ruled at the time. Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak then rushed a legislative initiative through parliament to declare Rwanda safe by law.

Sunak promised flights for the summer
The flights were actually supposed to start in spring 2024. However, logistical problems also caused difficulties. It took the government a long time to find airlines willing to operate the flights. Finally, Sunak promised that deportations would begin in the summer if he won the election.