An interview with an MP on Good Morning Britain grew heated when he was asked about the government’s plans to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Host Adil Ray grilled Tom Pursglove, minister for justice and tackling illegal migration, when he made an appearance on the ITV show to discuss the new scheme. The government announced on Thursday that £120 million is set to be invested into the plans, which will see people arriving in the UK seeking asylum flown to Rwanda for processing.
The scheme has been heavily criticised, with North East groups branding it “utterly inhumane” . And GMB host Adil made his stance on the scheme clear as he turned up the heat on the minister, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
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Adil asked Mr Pursglove: “If you had to, could you go and live in Rwanda?”, a question to which the MP struggled to give a straightforward answer.
“I don’t think that is relevant,” Mr Pursglove replied - but the GMB presenter disagreed.
“Of course it’s relevant,” Adil replied. “If it’s not good enough for you, why is it good enough for a Syrian or Afghan refugee? It has got to be somewhere that we think is safe. These are human beings, these are people who have come to us for help.”
Adil continued to push the MP for an answer, repeatedly asking him: “Would you live in Rwanda?”
Mr Pursglove finally replied, “I am somebody who is a British citizen who lives in the United Kingdom.”
“So why are you asking somebody else to go and live in a country that you wouldn’t live in yourself?” Adil asked.
Mr Pursglove replied: "The situation with regards to Rwanda is that this is a country that has existing relationships with the UNHCR who place refugees in that country." The minister's video link then began to lose connection, but he could be heard saying that he would be happy to "visit" Rwanda.
Adil ended the interview as he said: "Oh well, we lost him. I think that he's happy to visit Rwanda but not sure that he said he's happy to live in Rwanda, but we don't know. But there was a hesitation, I thought."
