More migrants arrive in UK on Easter Sunday despite risk they face being deported to Rwanda as Priti Patel slams ‘synthetic outrage’ at plan
- Ms Patel announced plans to deport failed asylum seekers to Rwands this week
- But a boat with around 20 migrants aboard was brought into Dover, Kent, today
- Men, women and young children were brought ashore wearing life jackets
- It comes a day after a further 252 migrants attempting to make the journey
- Home Secretary slammed ‘synthetic hysteria’ amid criticism of the new plans
More migrants have arrived in the UK today, despite the risk of being deported to Rwanda – as Priti Patel slams ‘synthetic outrage’ at the plans.
The Government announced this week it plans to provide failed asylum seekers, including those crossing the Channel in small boats, with a one-way ticket to the African country, where they will have the right to apply to live permanently.
But a boat with around 20 migrants on board was brought ashore into Dover, Kent, on Easter Sunday after being intercepted by Border Force officers.
Men, women and young children were all wearing lifejackets as they were brought into the port this morning to be processed.
Windy conditions in the Channel are expected to prevent large numbers attempting the treacherous crossing today.
It comes a day after the Royal Navy and Border Force intercepted a further 252 migrants attempting to make the treacherous journey.
Despite choppy conditions in the 21-mile wide Dover Straits, seven flimsy dinghies made the dangerous voyage and were rescued in British waters.
As of Saturday, the latest figures now mean 6,263 migrants have already been detained so far this year in 193 small boats.
Men, women and children were brought ashore in Dover, Kent, by Border Force officials on Easter Sunday
Three men are escorted off a boat on Sunday. Around 20 are understood to have been intercepted in the Channel
Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured speaking to the media in Rwanda), has slammed ‘synthetic outrage’ at her plans
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel on Easter Sunday
Latest figures now mean 6,263 migrants have already been detained so far this year in 193 small boats
Young children were among the migrants intercepted as they tried to make the Channel crossing today
The migrants were pictured in life jackets and wearing face masks as they were escorted off the boat by Border Force officers
A woman and young child are helped off a boat after attempting to cross the Channel on Sunday
How will the new Rwanda migrant scheme work?
Cross-channel arrivals assessed and anyone deemed an economic migrant rather than a refugee is sent to Rwanda
- Initial agreement worth £120million over five years
- Failed immigrants urged to start new life in Africa
- Initially based at hostel in Kigali
- Hope House is currently being used as budget accommodation for tourists
- Privately owned, the East African nation’s government is understood to be in negotiations to lease the property
- Memorandum of understanding (MOU) says Government will screen asylum seekers ‘without delay’ after arrival in the UK
- All requests will require approval from Rwanda before relocation
- Nation can refuse to take people with criminal records
- People who cross the Channel in small boats will undergo initial checks at the Western Jet Foil facility in Dover
- Further checks at a processing site in Manston, Kent. Where their claim is deemed inadmissible, they may be removed to a ‘third safe country’.
- Royal Navy to lead Channel policing role, helping Border Force from today
- PM attacked ‘a formidable army of politically motivated lawyers’ who have thwarted previous action
- PM: ‘Our compassion may be infinite but our capacity to help people is not. We can’t ask the British taxpayer to write a blank cheque to cover the costs of anyone who might want to come and live here.’
In 2021 that figure was not reached until July 10, while 1,713 people have been arrived this month alone.
Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday slammed the ‘synthetic outrage’ over the Rwanda plans.
She also accused political opponents of treating exploited migrants with contempt and slammed ‘shameful’ human rights lawyers for profiting from traffickers sending groups to the UK in flimsy dinghies, The Sun reports.
Ms Patel said: ‘All I’ve heard the last couple of days is a typical hysterical reaction from the Left, particularly through their social media echo chamber.
‘All they have to offer is synthetic outrage. Labour doesn’t have a plan. They don’t care about Britain’s interests or UK taxpayers who foot the bill.
‘They are showing complete contempt for democracy and the wishes of the British people who have been crying out for years for action to fix our broken asylum system and tackle illegal migration.’
A Government source told the Mail on Sunday that after striking a dramatic deal, the Home Secretary wants to spread the word internationally and let ‘people know the rules have changed and if you arrive illegally to the UK, you can be deported to Rwanda’.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also warned that ‘anyone entering the UK illegally, as well as those who have arrived illegally since 1 January, may now be relocated to Rwanda’.
A £100,000 information campaign will use social media to reach people in ‘source countries’ in their own languages.
The new deal – expected to be the subject of legal challenges – was presented to Cabinet Ministers on Wednesday by Ms Patel and the Prime Minister.
The Rwandan government will receive £120 million in investment from the UK with the cost of housing each migrant for three months estimated at £20,000 to £30,000.
Ms Patel issued a ministerial direction, only the second in the department for 30 years, to force through the policy after objections from Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft.
A man is escorted at a port in Dover after being intercepted attempting to illegally cross the Channel
Senior Home Office civil servants have expressed dismay at the cost. One said: ‘It will be astronomical. The legal bill alone will be huge.’
Last night, the Home Office published an exchange of letters between Ms Patel and Mr Rycroft in which he called for a ministerial direction as he could not justify the policy’s value for money.
The package also includes a new immigration centre for 500 men at a former RAF base in Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire.
Speaking after Saturday’s crossings, Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration Tom Pursglove MP said: ‘The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable.
‘Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws but they also impact on the UK taxpayer, risk lives and our ability to help refugees come to the UK via safe and legal routes. Rightly, the British public has had enough.
‘Through our Nationality and Borders Bill, we’re cracking down on people smugglers and fixing the broken system by making it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introducing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for those who facilitate illegal entry into our country.’
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