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Sir Keir Starmer confirms Rwanda plan ‘failed’ on first day as prime minister

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Image source, Getty Images

On his first full day as Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that the Rwanda deportation programme was “dead and buried”.

The Labour leader said he would put an end to the “trick” introduced by the previous Conservative government of deporting migrants arriving in Britain illegally to Rwanda.

In its election campaign promise, Labour had called for the abolition of the program, which already costs around £310 million, and promised a more effective approach to combating illegal immigration as a replacement.

At his first press conference since moving into 10 Downing Street, Sir Keir told journalists: “The Rwanda project was dead and buried before it even began.”

He argued that the program had “never had a deterrent effect” because it would only deport “less than 1%” of refugees arriving in small boats.

The financial consequences of the abolition of the program and the total bill for taxpayers are not yet known. The termination of the program also raises a question mark over the fate of 52,000 migrants who are due to be deported.

The plan was a central battleground in the final days of Rishi Sunak’s government.

The former prime minister made implementing the policy one of his top priorities during his time in office, arguing that it deterred people from crossing the English Channel in small boats.

Although the Rwanda Plan was announced two years ago by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it faced numerous legal challenges and never resulted in a flight.

The plans also faced a difficult passage in Parliament, leading to numerous Tories’ rebellions.

By June 26, 2024, 13,195 people had crossed the Channel into the United Kingdom in small boats – more than in the same period of the previous four years.

Since 2018, almost 120,000 people have come to the UK this way.

He added: “Look at the numbers that have come in in the first six months of this year. These are record numbers. This is the problem we are inheriting.”

“It had exactly the opposite effect and I am not prepared to continue with such tricks that have no deterrent effect.”

The new government has made combating illegal migration one of its top priorities.

The Labour Party’s election manifesto stated that it wanted to restrict the crossing of small boats through the Channel by hiring investigators and using anti-terrorism powers to “dismantle” criminal smuggling gangs.

The Labour Party has not yet announced full details of its plan.

Earlier this year, Rwandan President Paul Kagame suggested that British taxpayers could receive a refund if the deal failed.

Kevin Saunders, former head of immigration at the Border Agency, told Times Radio he was concerned about the lack of a clear plan from Labour on how to stop small boats crossing.

Mr Saunders, a supporter of the Rwanda programme, said the plan had caused “discomfort in the camps in northern France”.

“They were very, very worried. And we saw people fleeing to the Republic of Ireland because they did not want to be accepted there,” he said.

He predicted that “between 50,000 and 60,000” illegal immigrants could cross the Channel this year.

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