The Prime Minister is to meet with Prince Charles in Rwanda on Friday (24 June) after Boris Johnson's controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to the African country sparked fury. The pair will come together at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the capital Kigali, where Mr Johnson will be embarking on an eight-day diplomatic whirlwind.
The summit is a just a few miles from the hostel where asylum seekers were due to be forced from Britain under a £120m deal. Prince Charles will be joining the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, who are already in Rwanda ahead of the CHOGM.
The meeting between the PM and the royal will be its first since reports emerged that the Prince of Wales branded the policy “appalling”. Clarence House has not confirmed or denied the private comments, which also include that the heir was “more than disappointed," reports the Mirror.
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Government sources expected the pair to have a one-on-one "side conversation" at the margins of the summit, their first since June 3. "They are due to meet, obviously they will encounter each other during the summit but they are due to have a bilateral discussion as well," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
Clarence House confirmed the Prince of Wales will hold a private meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday morning in Kigali. Mr Johnson will pay a visit to the future king and “share a cup of tea” before they each undertake a schedule of events for the programme in Rwanda.
Government sources claimed their conversation was likely to focus on the summit’s priorities, which include the Ukraine war, trade and investment, climate change and girls’ education. But there has been widespread outrage over removal flights costing up to £500,000 each - and fears over Rwanda’s human rights record.
Hours before he set off, Mr Johnson vowed to press on with the flights and change UK law so he could ignore the European Court in future. After Rwanda he will jet to the G7 leaders’ summit in the Bavarian Alps followed by the Nato summit in Madrid.
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