LIZ Truss has been accused of delaying an annual report on human rights because it is likely to criticise Rwanda’s human rights record.
The Foreign Office’s report was due before the Westminster parliamentary summer recess and is now the most delayed ever.
Critics have accused the Foreign Secretary of holding up the publication in an attempt to quash criticism of Rwanda, the country which Truss wants to send some migrants to on a one-way ticket.
Her opponents also say it could be because the Tory leadership hopeful is too focused on the race against Rishi Sunak to become the next prime minister.
Lord Wood of Anfield, a Labour peer and member of the House of Lords international relations committee, said: “At best, this is another example of how the business of government has ground to a halt while Liz Truss is engaged in her acrimonious contest with Rishi Sunak.
"At worst, I suspect it is a cynical attempt by the foreign secretary to delay scrutiny over what the report says about Rwanda.
"Either way, there is no good reason for this unprecedented delay.”
SNP MP and shadow home secretary Stuart McDonald told The National: "This is a disgraceful, illegal, and inhumane policy that will achieve nothing but a massive bill for the taxpayer.
"Given the Home Office has been busy trying to suppress publication of key documents critical of the policy, it is entirely understandable that people will be cynical about the late release of this report.
"Liz Truss should ensure the report is published immediately.”
MSP Maggie Chapman said the Rwanda policy is "shameful" and said it was "obvious" why Truss would want the report delayed.
She told The National: "The cruel and racist deportation flights are a disgrace. They are reflective of a UK Government that has absolutely no interest in or care about human rights.
"Liz Truss's support for the regime in Rwanda is characteristic of a shameful and hypocritical foreign policy that puts self-interest before human rights and lives.
"It is obvious why she would want to delay the report, when it criticises many of the despots, dictatorships and abusers that she has spent her time arming and supporting as Foreign Secretary.
"With independence we can take a different approach. We can end Scotland's role in the damage that is being inflicted from Downing Street and instead follow a foreign policy with human rights and solidarity at its heart."
It comes after court papers showed that the UK’s high commissioner to Rwanda warned against the UK Government scheme because the country “has been accused of recruiting refugees to conduct armed operations in neighbouring countries”.
The Foreign Office’s human rights report is expected to further add to this criticism.
Its last report said “critical voices continued to face heavy restrictions” in the nation.
It is usually published between March and June.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “We will publish the annual human rights and democracy report in due course.”
The Commons Home Affairs Committee previously found there is “no evidence” that the policy is acting as a deterrent to English Channel crossings.
Opposition parties and charities have hit out at the policy as "abhorrent" while SNP shadow home secretary Stuart McDonald MP said: "it is a cataclysmic waste of taxpayers’ money".
