Rwanda will not refund any of the £270 million paid by the UK for the previous government’s asylum scheme after the Labour Party scrapped it.
Doris Uwicyeza Picard, from the country’s ministry of justice, said on Tuesday that Kigali had upheld its side of the deal and described any issues with the plan as a “UK problem.”
Speaking to the BBC World Service, she said: “We are under no obligation to provide any refund. We will remain in constant discussions. However, it is understood that there is no obligation on either side to request or receive a refund.”
“We were informed of the UK’s decision. We take note of the UK’s decision to terminate the agreement.
“We just want to reiterate that this was a partnership initiated by the UK to solve a UK problem and Rwanda stepped up, as we have always stepped up in the past, to provide safety, refuge, and opportunities to migrants.
“Rwanda has maintained its side of the agreement, and we have ramped up capacity to accommodate thousands of migrants and asylum seekers. We have upheld our end of the deal.”
The African nation issued a statement on Monday saying it had “taken note” of Labour’s plans to abolish the scheme.
London has already paid Kigali £270 million as part of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership, a flagship policy of former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government.
The Tories had pledged a “regular rhythm of flights every month,” but despite this not one migrant has been forcibly deported to Rwanda, with the only people making the trip being four failed asylum seekers who voluntarily flew there after being offered £3,000.
According to the deal, either government could have pulled out of the agreement, but it will only formally end three months after the other party is informed in writing.
It would have lasted until April 13, 2027, had Labour not called time on the policy.
Under a break clause, the UK can pull out of two further payments of £50 million in 2025 and 2026 without any penalty, but it is likely Britain will have to continue to fund the four asylum seekers who are now in Rwanda.
Ms. Uwicyeza Picard also seemed to criticise the U.N. Refugee Agency, which had been a major critic of the scheme for being “unsafe” for migrants, despite the agency itself using Rwanda to accommodate asylum seekers.
She said: “We work with organisations to take people from countries like Libya and provide them with opportunities in Rwanda.
“It beggars belief as to why Rwanda would be safe with these migrants rather than those migrants just because of the country they are coming from.”
Labour pledged to scrap the policy in its manifesto and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the scheme as “dead and buried before it started” over the weekend.
The Home Office is reportedly already looking to recruit a “leader used to working in complex and challenging environments, for example at senior levels of policing, intelligence or the military” to take charge of the new command.
However, former Home Secretary James Cleverly criticised his replacement Yvette Cooper for abolishing the Rwanda plan.
On social media platform X, Mr. Cleverly said sarcastically that Ms. Cooper was off to a “great start” at the Home Office, accusing her of removing the deterrent for illegal immigrants for crossing the English Channel, giving up £270 million and starting a diplomatic row with Rwanda.
