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Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
Germany could use asylum facilities in Rwanda originally intended for the UK’s aborted migration scheme, reports from Berlin have suggested.
The country’s migration commissioner, Joachim Stamp, has suggested the EU could utilise existing asylum accommodation in the east African country, originally destined for migrants deported from Britain under the now-scrapped scheme.
Downing Street said it would not comment on the discussions between two foreign governments.
But Tory leadership frontrunner and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick said the development was “a complete farce”.
He told Sky News: “The British government created a scheme in Rwanda which is admired by other countries around the world. Many of our partners, potentially Germany, have looked at that and thought they might create a version of it in the years ahead.
“This new Labour government has scrapped the scheme, instead of strengthening it as I wanted, so it was the most robust deterrent, they scrapped it altogether.
“Now the very facilities we invested in may be taken up by countries like Germany who clearly are more determined to tackle this issue than this Labour government who seem as if they want open borders in the UK.”
But border security minister Dame Angela Eagle warned the Germans against pursuing what she dubbed “an expensive gimmick”.
She told Sky News: “It was not workable, it was a gimmick, the last government spent £700m to get four people to voluntarily go to Rwanda and was gearing up to spend billions more.
“If that plan was going to work, it would have worked. We had to abandon it, it prevented the Home Office from doing its day job, there was an infinitesimally small chance someone might end up in Rwanda.
“The four people who did end up in Rwanda volunteered to go there.
“The German people will have to decide what to do, but my advice to them would be that it was an expensive gimmick and it won’t work.”
News that Germany could consider adopting its own Rwanda plan comes as home secretary Yvette Cooper is to chair a summit aimed at destroying the criminal gangs involved in smuggling people over the English Channel in small boats.
The Home Secretary will lead the meeting of senior ministers and figures from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and intelligence services on Friday.
It follows the deaths of at least 12 people who attempted to cross the channel on Tuesday, in what has been described as the deadliest crossing tragedy of the year so far.
Their boat was “ripped apart” and sank off the northern French coast of Cap Gris-Nez, and crossings have continued in the following days.
Ahead of the meeting, Ms Cooper said: “Exploiting vulnerable people is at the heart of the business model of these despicable criminal smuggling gangs.
“Women and children were packed into an unsafe boat which literally collapsed in the water this week.
“At least 12 people were killed as part of this evil trade. We will not rest until these networks have been dismantled and brought to justice.”
The Home Secretary will be joined at NCA headquarters in London by Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Attorney General Lord Hermer, as well as representatives from the NCA, Border Force and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Representatives from the intelligence community will also be present, who have been helping the NCA penetrate and dismantle the smuggling gangs.
The Rwanda plan, launched by Boris Johnson and Priti Patel in 2022, was intended to deter migrants planning to cross the English Channel in small boats from making the journey with the threat of deportation to Kigali.
Sir Keir Starmer scrapped the scheme, which ministers said had cost £700 million in the last year alone, when Labour came to power in the summer.
As in the UK, Germany’s ruling coalition is facing pressure to restrict unauthorised migration into the country, with recent regional elections seeing the anti-immigration far-right political party Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) make gains at the ballot box.
Asked about reports that Germany could work with the Rwandans on such a scheme, using facilities originally built for the UK, a No 10 spokesperson said they would not comment on discussions between other nations.
“Policies pursued by other countries are a matter for them. Our position with regard to Rwanda is well known,” they added.
The Government has previously aired hopes it could recoup some of the £220 million paid to the Rwandan government as part of the scheme, a request Kigali said it has no obligation to honour.
Downing Street was not able to offer any update on attempts to claw back the cash.
