PM SUNAK DENIES PREVIOUS DOUBTS ON RWANDA DEPORTATION SCHEME – Cost of housing migrants awaiting a decision is 8 million pounds a day.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday denied wanting to “scrap” the government’s Rwanda deportation scheme in 2022.
The BBC reported it had seen papers suggesting that Sunak had wanted to scale back plans to send asylum seekers to the African nation and the documents also indicated he was not sure the policy would be a deterrent.
Speaking in the north western county of Lancashire, Sunak denied the report, saying it was his job as finance minister at the time to scrutinise the plan and had asked “probing questions”.
On Sunday , Sunak expressed confidence he could get the scheme through parliament, and on Monday he reiterated the sentiment, saying that the legislation would be brought before parliament in the coming weeks.
Sunak has made “stopping the boats” carrying migrants across the Channel from Europe one of his top five priorities, and is seeking to revive the plan to send those who arrive illegally in Britain to Rwanda after it was blocked by the courts last year.
The government is currently spending more than 3 billion pounds a year on processing asylum applications, with the cost of housing migrants awaiting a decision in hotels and other accommodation running at about 8 million pounds a day.
