Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said he might give back the money to the UK if they don’t send any asylum seekers to his country as part of their agreement.
The UK has given Rwanda £240m and will give another £50m later. No asylum seekers have been sent to the country yet.
When Kagame was asked why he was taking the money, he said, “I will only use it if those people come. ” If they don’t show up, we can give the money back.
But the government of Rwanda said there is no requirement to do it later on.
In response to what Mr. Kagame said on Wednesday, a spokeswoman said that if the UK asks for their money back, they will think about it.
The president spoke before an important vote in the government. The vote passed a law to bring back the deportation plan, which was declared illegal by the Supreme Court last year.
The new law will now be looked at closely by the House of Lords. It is expected to face a lot of disagreement there.
The Rwandan government said the money they received was for helping their country grow economically and to get ready to welcome and take care of migrants when they come.
“Rwanda doesn’t have to give back any of the money they received, according to the agreement,” said spokesperson Yolande Makolo.
If no migrants come to Rwanda as part of the plan, and the UK government wants their money back that was supposed to support the migrants, we will think about giving them a refund.
“At this time, it’s too early to discuss numbers because we’re still waiting for the UK government to finish making decisions. We are still determined to make the partnership successful. ”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak thinks that sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda will stop other people from trying to cross the Channel in small boats.
Labour says the plan is too expensive and won’t work. They would get rid of the policy if they win the election.
The problem in the UK.
On Wednesday evening, members of parliament voted to bring back the scheme, after a group of Conservative MPs who opposed it did not succeed in stopping it.
Many Conservative members of Parliament tried to change the bill, but they did not succeed. They believe that the law won’t do a good enough job of preventing individual appeals from stopping deportation flights.
Before the vote, the BBC’s Economics Editor Faisal Islam got a short interview with Paul Kagame at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The president didn’t say how much money he could give back to the UK, or when.
Mr Kagame was asked about the current problems with the deal in his country. He said it’s not Rwanda’s problem. “He said that the UK should be asked because it is their problem, not Rwanda’s problem. “
Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves was happy that Mr. Kagame offered to give back the money. She promised to use the money to help with asylum cases and to stop criminal gangs.
She said in Davos that using the money for controlling small boat crossings would be a better idea and have a better chance of success.
‘Lost’ people looking for a safe place to stay.
Labour says the Rwanda plan will end up costing British taxpayers £400 million in the long run.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the government lost track of more than 4,000 people they were supposed to send to Rwanda.
The Daily Telegraph reported that out of 5,000 people who were supposed to be deported, only 700 are keeping in touch with officials.
Sir Keir said that spending £400 million on a plan that doesn’t help anyone in Rwanda and resulted in the loss of 4,000 people is not a real plan, it’s just a joke.
“This government spent a lot of money on a policy to remove people, but it didn’t actually remove anyone. ”
Mr Sunak supported the government’s work on immigration, then said: “It’s not fair to hear him acting like he cares about stopping the boats when he has said clearly that he would get rid of the plan even if it’s working to reduce the numbers. ”
“He doesn’t have strong beliefs or a clear plan, so we’re starting over again. ”
The Home Office told BBC that its documents were leaked to The Telegraph and are not available to the public.
It said the numbers are based on old data from last year. It didn’t say if there are new numbers or when they might be available.
The Home Office has a special team that works with the police and others to find and bring back people who have left without permission using all kinds of technology.