The Government on Wednesday defended proposals to pay thousands to encourage failed asylum seekers to move to Rwanda voluntarily, as its deportation plan struggles to get off the ground.
The proposals are separate to the plan to force people to relocate to the East African nation, which has suffered setbacks in the courts and is enduring a difficult passage through Parliament.
The new scheme is an extension of existing Home Office voluntary returns, under which migrants are offered financial assistance worth up to £3,000 to leave the UK for their country of origin - except now they would go to Rwanda.
Postal affairs minister Kevin Hollinrake said “yes, it's a good use of public money (and) no, it doesn't undermine the (deportation) scheme, quite the opposite”.
“So the £3000 is a lot of money, but it costs a lot more money than that to keep people in this country who are without merit, who have come here illegally and have failed those asylum tests,” he told Times Radio.
“But I think the other thing to say about this, of course, the whole Rwanda scheme is about a deterrent. It's about saying to people, if you come here, you can't stay here if you come here illegally. That's the point.
“So I don't think anybody would try and come here just to get £3,000 to go to Rwanda,” the minister added, rebuffing suggestions that migrants might seek to profit from the new proposals.
The scheme is understood to be aimed at migrants who have no legal right to stay but cannot be returned to their home country.
The Government’s Bill, which has suffered numerous defeats in the House of Lords in recent days, declares Rwanda to be a safe country for migrants, despite a Supreme Court ruling to the contrary.
Rishi Sunak is working to a tight timetable with the Prime Minister intent on sending the first planeloads of migrants to Rwanda in the spring, ahead of a General Election this year, and officials believe the voluntary portion could start quickly.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “In the last year, 19,000 people were removed voluntarily from the UK and this is an important part of our efforts to tackle illegal migration.
“We are exploring voluntary relocations for those who have no right to be here, to Rwanda, who stand ready to accept people who wish to rebuild their lives and cannot stay in the UK.
“This is in addition to our Safety of Rwanda Bill and Treaty which, when passed, will ensure people who come to the UK illegally are removed to Rwanda.”
But Labour accused ministers of “resorting to paying people” to go to Rwanda after realising their deportation scheme “has no chance of succeeding”.
“There have been so many confused briefings around the Rwanda policy that the public will be forgiven for treating this latest wheeze with a degree of scepticism,” shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said.
“It seems that the Home Secretary is trying to find a way out of this hare-brained scheme that he himself has described as ‘batshit’.”
