A senior Tory MP has slammed the government's "immoral" plan to send asylum seekers coming to the UK to Rwanda.
Andrew Mitchell, a former international development secretary, also hit out at Boris Johnson 's plan saying there were "eye-watering" costs involved in sending people 4,000 miles away.
The Prime Minister unveiled the controversial plan at a press conference yesterday.
The Tory government will give £150 million of taxpayers cash to the Rwandan government in upfront costs with billions expected to be paid over the years.
It is designed to crack down on migrants landing on British shores after crossing the Channel in small boats, the UK intends to provide those deemed to have arrived unlawfully with a one-way ticket to Rwanda.
Mitchell told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he recognised that ministers were attempting to tackle "what is a terrible problem" after 28,000 people came to the UK "illicitly" in 2021.
He said: "The Government is quite rightly trying to break the smugglers ' sordid and deathly model, and so I am absolutely behind them in doing that.
"The problem with the scheme that they have announced is that I don't think it will work.
"It is impractical, it is being condemned by churches and civil society, it is immoral and, above all for conservative advocates, it is incredible expensive.
"The costs are eye-watering. You're going to send people 6,000 miles into central Africa - it looked when it was discussed in Parliament before that it would actually be cheaper to put each asylum seeker in the Ritz hotel in London."
Tom Pursglove, a Home Office minister, attempted to defend the plan say it would say the country in the long term.
He said: "There is this £120 million payment upfront to establish this partnership and, as we move forward, we will continue to make contributions to Rwanda as they process the cases, in a manner that is similar to the amount of money we are spending on this currently here in the United Kingdom.
"But longer term, by getting this under control, it should help us to save money.
"We are spending £5 million per day accommodating individuals who are crossing in hotels.
"That is not sustainable and is not acceptable and we have to get that under control."
"You're going to send people 6,000 miles into central Africa, it looked when it was discussed in Parliament before that it would actually be cheaper to put each asylum seeker in the Ritz hotel in London."
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