Rwanda may be getting more than £140m already paid – as Home Office admits not knowing whereabouts of 17,000 asylum seekers
Rwanda may be getting more than the £140m it has already been paid under the controversial deportation deal, despite no flights taking off, MPs have been told.
Sir Matthew Rycroft, the top civil servant at the Home Office, hinted more money would be spent but repeatedly refused to disclose the sum – saying ministers had decided they would not reveal that information until the summer.
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He made the comments during an awkward appearance at the Home Affairs Committee (HAC) which left MPs exasperated as he was unable to answer many of their questions, with Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson saying he “did not have a clue”.
The combative exchange came after Sir Matthew and his Home Office deputy made the admission that they do not know what has happened to around 17,000 asylum seekers whose claims have been withdrawn by the department.
The session started with a grilling on whether the government in Kigali has received more than the £140m previously given to them to house and process deported asylum seekers.
Sir Matthew said “there are additional payments each year” but “ministers have decided the way to keep you updated is once a year”.
He said the £140m figure was for the 2022/23 financial year so anything in 23/24 will be announced “in the normal way in the next annual report”, coming out next summer.
Labour chair of the committee Dame Diana Johnson said his responses made it “quite hard to effectively scrutinise the flagship policy of the Home Office, and how much money is being spent on it, when we’re only getting the figures at the end of the year”.
Sir Matthew said it was the decision of ministers to update parliament annually “rather than giving a running commentary”.
Labour’s shadow minister for immigration Stephen Kinnock described suggestions that Britain could sent more money to Rwanda, despite no migrants being sent there yet, as an “affront to the hard-working British taxpayer”.
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Rwanda plan ‘probably dead’
Officials working on ‘finishing touches’ on new Rwanda deal
It’s been more than 18 months since the government first announced that it wanted to deport anyone who arrives in the UK by unauthorised means to Rwanda to claim asylum there, not the UK.
But the scheme has been held up in the courts ever since the first intended flight was grounded at the eleventh-hour last June following an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Earlier this month the plan was dealt another major set-back as Britain’s highest court ruled it to be unlawful.
The Supreme Court cited concerns with Rwanda’s asylum system and said there was a risk of refugees being sent back to their country of origin – something which is against international law.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is determined to see the plan through, however, and has announced his intention to sign a new legally binding treaty with Rwanda to address the judges’ concerns.
Sir Matthew told the HAC that officials were in Kigali “as we speak” and putting “finishing touches” to the new deal.
However, he said he did not know how much the government’s legal battle to get it over the line had cost and would respond to the committee at a later date. He also said it was “not realistic” to say how many Home Office officials were working on the policy as they “are doing other things as well”.
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The backlog of asylum claims in the UK has hit a new record high, according to Home Office figures
Home Office ‘doesn’t know’ where thousands of failed asylum seekers are
Several MPs expressed frustration at the lack of detail Sir Matthew, as well as his second-in-command Simon Ridley, was able to provide.
Conservative MP Tim Loughton appeared visibly shocked when it emerged the Home Office does not know what has happened to thousands of asylum seekers whose claims have been withdrawn.
The two officials were asked if it was “fortuitous” that, amid ongoing efforts to address the legacy backlog, 17,316 claims were withdrawn between September 2022 and September 2023 – a 307% increase on the withdrawal rate for the year before.
The senior Tory said 5% of cases were classified in this way because their claim was not substantiated but the rest were categorised as happening “for other reasons”.
Mr Ridley said these were asylum seekers who made a claim, were invited to interview, but did not turn up so their cases were withdrawn. He said: “In most cases I don’t know where those people are.”
Hope Hostel accommodation in Kigali, Rwanda, where migrants from the UK were expected to be taken
Following a series of terse exchanges on various subjects, including Channel crossings and the cost of the Bibby Stockholm contract, Dame Diana asked: “Do we have any figures about anything?” She said it was “disrespectful to this committee you didn’t come prepared”.
Right-wing Tory MP Mr Anderson also lost his patience when he was unable to get a figure on how many rejected asylum seekers had been deported in the past three years – excluding criminals and Albanians.
He said: “I find this absolutely staggering that the big boss hasn’t got a clue, not just on this question, but nearly every other question we’ve asked today. Why is that?”
“Mr Ridley is looking for the numbers and we will send them to you”, Sir Matthew replied.
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NHS must change policy on allowing trans people on single-sex wards, head of equalities watchdog says
The NHS must change its policy of allowing transgender people to be on single-sex wards aligned with their gender identity following the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a “woman”, the head of Britain’s equalities watchdog said.
On Wednesday, judges at the UK’s highest court unanimously ruled that the definition of a “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to “a biological woman and biological sex”.
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chair of the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said the ruling was “enormously consequential” and ensured clarity.
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She vowed to pursue organisations that do not update their policies, saying they should be “taking care” to look at the “very readable judgment”.
On single-sex hospital wards, Baroness Falkner told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the NHS will “have to change” their 2019 policy, which says transgender patients are entitled to be accommodated on single-sex wards matching how they identify.
She said the court ruling means there is now “no confusion” and the NHS “can start to implement the new legal reasoning and produce their exceptions forthwith”.
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Gender ruling – How it happened
Women’s sport and changing rooms
The baroness also said trans women can no longer take part in women’s sport, while single-sex places, such as changing rooms, “must be based on biological sex”.
However, she said there is no law against organisations providing a “third space”, such as unisex toilets, and suggested trans rights organisations “should be using their powers of advocacy to ask for those third spaces”.
In 2021, Baroness Falkner came under criticism from trans and other LGBTIQ+ organisations after she said women had the right to question transgender identity without fear of abuse, stigmatisation or loss of employment.
Some EHRC staff resigned in protest of the body’s “descent into transphobia”, while others defended her, saying she was depoliticising the organisation. Her four-year term was extended for a further 12 months in November by the Labour government.
Public bodies must look at equality laws
Health minister Karin Smyth said public bodies have been told to look at how equality laws are implemented following the ruling.
She told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast: “Obviously, public bodies have been asked to look at their own guidance.
“And we will do that very, very carefully.”
She said the court’s ruling was “very clear” about women’s rights being defined by sex, which she said “will give clarity to companies”.
But she warned against public bodies making statements “that may alarm people”, telling them to take their time to look at their guidance.
The ruling marked the culmination of a long battle between campaign group For Women Scotland and the Scottish government after the group brought a case arguing sex-based protections should only apply to people born female.
Read more:
Feminists ‘feel braver about speaking out’
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‘This ruling doesn’t affect trans people in the slightest’
Not a triumph of one group over another
Judge Lord Hodge said the ruling should not be read as “a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another”.
He said the Equality Act 2010 “gives transgender people protection, not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, but also against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment in substance in their acquired gender”.
Ms Smyth said those who identify as transgender “will feel concerned” after the ruling but said the Gender Recognition Act still stands and gives people who identify differently to the sex they were born in “the dignity and privacy of presenting differently”.
She said NHS policy of having same sex wards remains, but did not mention the 2019 transgender policy, and said the NHS has been looking at how to support both transgender men and women.
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said the Scottish government “accepts” the judgment and said the ruling “gives clarity”.
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‘Today’s ruling only stokes the culture war further’
Trina Budge, director of For Women Scotland, said it was a “victory for women’s rights” and said the case was “never about trans rights” as transgender people are “fully protected in law”.
“It means there’s absolute clarity in law regarding what a woman is. We know for sure now that we are referring to the biological sex class of women,” she told Sky News.
“And that when we see a women-only space, it means exactly that. Just women. No men. Not even if they have a gender recognition certificate.”
Transgender woman and Scottish Greens activist Ellie Gomersall said the ruling “represents yet another attack on the rights of trans people to live our lives in peace”.
Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman added: “This is a deeply concerning ruling for human rights and a huge blow to some of the most marginalised people in our society.”
LGBT charity Stonewall said there was “deep concern” around the consequences of the ruling.
As Polygon lays the groundwork for mainstream Web3 adoption in India by bringing blockchain access to over 450 million Reliance Jio users, it remains focused on balancing speed, scalability and affordability, without compromising on decentralization.
Polygon is working with Jio, a telecom giant owned by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, to find ways to infuse blockchain technology into its existing services. The duo is currently adding blockchain-based capabilities to the JioSphere web browser, which would have been expensive, cumbersome and time-consuming via traditional methods.
“We’re building at an insane pace, onboarding massive partners, and pushing blockchain into the mainstream, but with that growth comes the responsibility to make sure we’re doing it the right way,” Polygon’s co-founder, Sandeep Nailwal, said while discussing Polygon’s India-focused initiatives with Cointelegraph.
Preserving decentralization while ensuring system scalability
“Scalability and decentralization don’t have to be either-or, and that’s exactly the balance we’re focused on at Polygon,” Nailwal said as he underscored the importance of keeping the core values of blockchain intact: security, transparency and decentralization.
At the same time, Nailwal revealed that Polygon is investing heavily in zero-knowledge technology to make scaling more seamless across the ecosystem. “The goal is to give developers and users the best of both worlds: faster, cheaper transactions without compromising trust or decentralization,” he added.
As a result of delivering the combination of low fees, fast transactions and decentralized security, Polygon is already powering some of the most active use cases in Web3, from stablecoin payments on Polygon PoS to real-world tokenization with major institutions:
“The key challenge is making blockchain as seamless and accessible as Web2 without compromising what makes it special. That’s why we’re all-in on ZK technology and Agglayer, which let us scale while keeping the ecosystem trustless and interoperable.”
Bringing blockchain tech to millions of users
According to Nailwal, a one-size-fits-all approach does not work when onboarding 450 million users from India’s diverse population. “We’ll be working closely with Jio to develop use cases that truly resonate with their users, and gradually onboard them onto the chain based on these real-world applications,” he added.
Nailwal said that developers never have to compromise on the fundamentals, as Polygon’s infrastructure can scale without sacrificing what makes blockchain powerful in the first place:
“What excites me most is that we’re moving beyond technical discussions about blockchain to solving real problems for real people. These are the use cases that will drive the next wave of adoption.”
“At the end of the day, it’s about more than just technology. We’re here to create a decentralized future that billions of people can actually use. And while that’s a massive challenge, it’s also what excites me the most,” Nailwal said.
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Real-world problem solving will drive the next wave of adoption
Rising threats driven by artificial intelligence tools, including deepfakes and other misinformation campaigns, are another use case blockchain technology can help solve. Nailwal said that the escalating threat of misinformation and growing consumer insistence on trusted sources will eventually result in an uptick of blockchain-based verification tools.
Additionally, Nailwal highlighted the growing relevance of Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction market, in mainstream finance and reporting. “Polymarket’s success is exactly what we’ve been working toward,” he said, adding:
“Prediction markets are proving to be incredibly valuable tools for finance, risk assessment, journalism and even governance. They pull in insights from a wide range of sources, often making them more reliable than traditional polling.”
Nailwal is placing his full bet on blockchain’s immutable nature to transform economic forecasting, policy-making and journalism, among others.
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Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is involved in discussions on establishing strategic digital asset reserves with several countries, its CEO, Richard Teng, reportedly said.
Binance has been advising multiple governments on establishing strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserves and formulating crypto asset regulations, Teng said in an interview with the Financial Times on April 17.
“We have actually received quite a number of approaches by a few governments and sovereign wealth funds on the establishment of their own crypto reserves,” Teng told the FT.
Teng did not identify any countries but said that the United States is “way ahead on that front.”
US fuels global crypto reserve spree
According to Teng, the main reason for governments approaching Binance for help in handling potential strategic reserves is the new crypto-friendly agenda in the US.
Teng referred to key US crypto policy developments, such as discussions around creating a national Bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile. Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve seeded with BTC forfeited in federal criminal and civil cases.
While governments of Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan have announced collaboration with Binance and former CEO Changpeng Zhao on crypto regulations in the past few weeks, none of the jurisdictions mentioned crypto reserve plans on their agenda.
Binance shifts stance on headquarters
As Binance deepens its involvement in efforts to help countries set up crypto reserves and regulations, it appears to have shifted away from its no-formal-headquarters approach under Zhao.
According to Teng, Binance is “working very hard” on plans for a global headquarters for the exchange.
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“It requires serious deliberation and the board and the senior management are spending a lot of time doing the evaluation,” Teng reportedly said, adding: “Hopefully we are able to announce our intentions on that front.”
In 2019, Zhao said that offices and headquarters are “old concepts like SMS and MMS.”
The shift comes as more jurisdictions adopt clearer frameworks for regulating crypto businesses. Binance was subject to heavy scrutiny and investigations by multiple governments in 2020.
Cointelegraph approached Binance for comment regarding its crypto policy collaboration with governments worldwide, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
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