Yvette Cooper comments on the High Court’s judgment on the Rwanda deportation scheme

Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, commenting on the High Court’s judgment on the Rwanda deportation scheme, said:

"The Rwanda scheme is a damaging distraction from the urgent action the Government should be taking to go after the criminal gangs and sort out the asylum system. It is unworkable, unethical, extortionately expensive.

“Ministers have already written a £140m cheque to Rwanda without the policy even starting, with millions more promised even though Home Office officials say there's no evidence it'll provide a deterrent and it risks making trafficking worse.

“The Rwandan government has said it can only process 200 people a year - or 0.5% of Channel crossings this year. It's no surprise that the Home Secretary herself has described the scheme as a failure.

“The Conservatives have let criminal gangs take hold in the Channel, while their own asylum decision making has collapsed. Labour have proposed serious policies to target the gangs and clear the backlog. Instead of spending millions on Rwanda the Government should put that money into pursuing the criminals who are organising these dangerous boats.”

Ends

Notes:

• Judgment here: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Rwanda-press-summary.pdf