Last year, state-owned airline RwandAir applied to become part of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plan but rejected the option due to concerns over reputational harm, The Independent reported.
A Home Office insider revealed that “RwandAir said ‘No’ because of the potential damage to their brand.”
Sunak voiced stopping small ships crossing the Channel as one of his main promises to voters, but that became mired in legal difficulties, leading to serious delays in implementing the policy.
The Supreme Court ruled against it last year, without anyone having been sent to Rwanda yet. However, Sunak signalled last week that he was prepared to ignore European Court of Human Rights rulings if that was necessary to implement his plan for Rwanda. Sunak received Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Tuesday.
The meeting came as Freedom from Torture launched a campaign to pressure airline AirTanker to exclude them from Sunak’s scheme. AirTanker operates a British fleet of refuelling aircraft that are also used as passenger planes.
Right now, it’s being reported that the airline AirTanker are in talks with the government to fly refugees to Rwanda as part of their cruel cash for humans scheme. In 2022, AirTanker ruled themselves out of being part of this scheme. It’s time for them to do the right thing again.
The revelation came just days after reports that properties meant for migrants removed from the UK had instead been sold to local buyers in Rwanda. According to the Times, of the 163 available homes in the Bwiza Riverside estate, 70% have been sold, meaning there are only places for a few dozen migrants.
Prices for the estate, funded through a public-private partnership between the Kigali government and corporate group ADHI, range from £14,000 to £27,000. The estate manager reported that the homes had been sold to “private people who want to live in them.”
Shadow Immigration Minister Stephen Kinnock claimed the Sunak scheme was “unravelling by the day.”
Now it seems there will be even less capacity to house those that are removed. The Tories’ so-called plan is unravelling by the day and taxpayers are footing the bill. It’s time for change.
According to the latest Home Office figures, 82 migrants were found crossing the Channel in small boats on Monday, bringing the total number of migrants this year to 5,517.
