The government has been accused of an “extortionate pre-election gimmick” after paying an asylum seeker £3,000 to relocate to Rwanda.
Under a scheme running alongside the government’s controversial deportation agreement with the east African nation, ministers can pay failed asylum applicants up to £3,000 to get on a flight to Kigali.
And on Tuesday, an African man became the first to take the government up on its offer, just in time for Thursday’s local elections.
The unnamed man was handed around £3,000 to board a commercial flight to the Rwandan capital after his bid to stay in Britain was rejected at the end of last year, The Sun reported.
And Labour criticised the move as an expensive bid by the Conservatives to win votes on the eve of the 2 May local elections.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The Tories are so desperate to get any flight off to Rwanda before the local elections that they have now just paid someone to go.
“British taxpayers aren’t just forking out £3,000 for a volunteer to board a plane, they are also paying Rwanda to provide him with free board and lodgings for the next five years. This extortionate pre-election gimmick is likely to be costing on average £2 million per person.
“Former Tory Home Office Ministers warned that the government’s plan was just to get token flights off before a General Election. Now we know what they mean.”
She said the country cannot afford more “Conservative chaos” and highlighted Labour’s plan to “smash the smuggling gangs” bringing migrants across the English Channel.
The Liberal Democrats described the flight as “cynical nonsense”.
Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: “This is cynical nonsense from a Conservative party that is about to take a drubbing at the local elections. Paying someone to go to Rwanda highlights just how much of a gimmick and farce their plan is.
“The truth is from day one the Government has cost the taxpayer eye-watering amounts of money and have failed to fix the issue.”
And, attacking Mr Sunak from the right, Nigel Farage said the policy of paying migrants to volunteer for deportation “won’t stop the boats”. “ Don’t be conned by this new government spin on the Rwanda deal… this African man, who did not even cross the Channel, was refused asylum and has voluntarily accepted £3,000 + free board,” the former Brexit Party leader said.
Defending the decision, business and trade minister Kemi Badenoch said there is no “cost-free option” to deal with Channel crossings.
She told Sky News: “There is no cost-free option, but I think that this is the right policy.
“It’s obviously already acting as a deterrent if we look at what the Irish government has been putting out.
“Just assuming that policing our borders can be done for no money whatsoever, it’s just not serious. It’s going to cost us something whatever it is we do.”
And she told Times Radio the flight should be “trumpeted” as it finally demonstrates that Rwanda is a safe country to deport asylum seekers to.
She added: “I know people who go there on holiday, a lot of people have been.
“We need to get away from a lot of the myths about this African country which is actually a leader on the continent in terms of what it’s been able to achieve both economically and around law and order.”
Ms Badenoch also said a rise in asylum seekers crossing from Northern Ireland into the Republic of Ireland was evidence the Rwanda scheme was having a deterrent effect.
Deputy Irish premier Micheal Martin has highlighted a rise in migrants crossing the border from Northern Ireland into the Republic over fears of being sent on a one-way flight to the east African nation under Mr Sunak’s deportation policy.
And Ireland’s premier Simon Harris has claimed that the UK government has confirmed there is an “operating agreement” to allow asylum seekers to be returned between both jurisdictions.
It comes amid a spat between the two countries over the issue, with Mr Sunak insisting migrants should not be returned to the UK because the UK is unable to return small boat migrants to EU countries such as France.
The government’s main Rwanda deportation plan, which will see migrants forcibly sent to the country as opposed to being paid to board flights voluntarily, is still yet to see an asylum seeker sent to the country.
It has been bogged down by legal challenges and wrangling in parliament, but a controversial bill deeming the country “safe” gained royal assent last month, with flights expected to take off in July.
It is a key plank of Rishi Sunak’s promise to “stop the boats”, which has so far proved a headache for the PM as boat crossings in 2024 are currently at record levels.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We are now able to send asylum seekers to Rwanda under our migration and economic development partnership. This deal allows people with no immigration status in the UK to be relocated to a safe third country where they will be supported to rebuild their lives.”
