Policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda is ‘dead and buried’, Prime Minister confirms

Labour's new leader, Keir Starmer, announced today that he believes the previous Conservative government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is no longer in effect.

Starmer was questioned during a press briefing today about whether the Rwanda program has been completely abandoned.

The Prime Minister responded: "The plan for Rwanda was a failure from the beginning. It has never been effective in deterring anyone."

Take a look at the figures that have been recorded in the first half of this year. They are the highest numbers we have ever seen. This is the issue that we have to deal with now.

"It has never been an effective deterrent. In fact, it had the opposite effect because everyone, especially the gangs in charge, knew that the odds of going to Rwanda were very low, less than one percent. This did not discourage anyone from their actions."

The risk of not leaving and not being deported meant I would have to stay in expensive housing for a prolonged period. However, things turned out the opposite way and I am not willing to keep using ineffective strategies as a way to prevent this from happening again.

The Refugee Council was pleased with the Prime Minister's announcement.

In a recent blog post, the Refugee Council praised the new Prime Minister for staying true to his promise to get rid of the Rwanda plan. They emphasized the importance of quickly giving a fair chance to those who are stuck in uncertainty in the asylum process.

Labour has announced their plan to replace the Rwanda policy by creating a Border Security Command to address the criminal groups responsible for the small boats crossing the Channel. Yvette Cooper, the new Home Secretary, stated that establishing this Command would be one of her top priorities after assuming her new role.