Labour says Rishi Sunak should admit Rwanda plan doubts after leaks suggest he thought deterrent ‘won’t work’
Labour says Rishi Sunak should be “honest” with the public by publishing documents which appear to show he had doubts about the Rwanda scheme to stop small boats from crossing the Channel.
Documents seen by Sky News suggest the prime minister was sceptical about government plans to send illegal migrants to the African country.
Mr Sunak expressed his doubts while he was chancellor in March 2022, shortly before the Rwanda scheme was first announced by Boris Johnson’s government.
The existence of the Number 10 briefing papers was widely reported on Saturday.
Now the Labour Party is urging Mr Sunak to “come clean”.
Watch Wilfred Frost’s live interview with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on the Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips show on Sky News from 8.30am on Sunday.
Analysis:
PM facing same old problems after trying to go on offensive
The papers revealed this weekend suggest the now prime minister had particular concerns about the costs of the scheme.
It has since been made public that the government has committed at least £400m to the Rwandan government, despite not a single person being removed to Rwanda.
The papers also appear to show Mr Sunak doubted the effectiveness of his now flagship policy, saying the then chancellor believed the “deterrent won’t work”.
A government source said Mr Sunak has put the Rwanda policy at the heart of his plan for government, and as chancellor, funded the scheme.
The government’s Rwanda Bill will return to the House of Commons this month.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper
Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said: “The more we hear about the government’s Rwanda scheme, the more obvious it becomes that this is an extortionate con that won’t fix the Tory chaos in our immigration system.
“The home secretary, the former immigration minister and now the prime minister clearly don’t believe the government’s plans will work.
“It’s time the Tory government was honest with the public, and publish both the papers outlining Rishi Sunak’s concerns and the full details of the cost of the scheme.
“In a few weeks’ time, the prime minister will ask his divided and sceptical backbench MPs to vote for a Rwanda scheme he clearly doesn’t believe in and which he refuses to set out the costs for.
“They should stop wasting time on this costly charade and adopt Labour’s plan to go after the criminal smuggling gangs, negotiating new security arrangements with Europe to better protect our borders and set up a new returns unit to ensure those with no right to be in the UK are swiftly removed.”
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After the reports about Mr Sunak’s doubts on Saturday, a government source said: “As chancellor, Rishi funded the Rwanda scheme and put it at the heart of his 10-point plan the month after becoming PM.
“Now he is passing the Rwanda Bill following the Supreme Court judgment to get flights off the ground.
“He is the first prime minister ever to oversee a reduction in small boat crossings, which were down by 36% last year.”
The European Union is considering a partial halt to its landmark artificial intelligence laws in response to pressure from the US government and Big Tech companies.
The European Commission plans to ease part of its digital rulebook, including the AI Act that took effect last year, as part of a “simplification package” that is to be decided on Nov. 19, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
If approved, the proposed halt could allow generative AI providers currently operating in the market a one-year compliance grace period and delay enforcement of fines for violations of AI transparency rules until August 2027.
“When it comes to potentially delaying the implementation of targeted parts of the AI Act, a reflection is still ongoing,” the commission’s Thomas Regnier told Cointelegraph, adding that the EC is working on the digital omnibus to present it on Nov. 19.
EU’s AI Act entered into force in August 2024
The commission proposed the first EU AI law in April 2021, with the mission of establishing a risk-based AI classification system.
Passed by the European Parliament and the European Council in 2023, the European AI Act entered into force in August 2024, with provisions expected to be implemented gradually over the next six to 36 months.
According to the FT, a bulk of the provisions for high-risk AI systems, which can pose “serious risks” to health, safety or citizens’ fundamental rights, are set to come into effect in August 2026.
With the draft “simplification” proposal, companies breaching the rules on the highest-risk AI use could reportedly receive a “grace period” of one year.
Related: EU mulls SEC-like oversight for stock, crypto exchanges to bolster startup landscape
The proposal is still subject to informal discussions within the commission and with EU states and could still change ahead of its adoption on Nov. 19, the report noted.
“Various options are being considered, but no formal decision has been taken at this stage,” the EC’s Regnier told Cointelegraph, adding: “The commission will always remain fully behind the AI Act and its objectives.”
“AI is an incredibly disruptive technology, the full implications of which we are still only just beginning to fully appreciate,” Mercuryo co-founder and CEO Petr Kozyakov said, adding:
“Ultimately, Europe’s competitiveness will depend on its ability to set high standards without creating barriers that may risk letting innovation take place elsewhere.”
The EU’s potential suspension of parts of the AI Act underscores Brussels’ evolving approach to digital regulation amid intensifying global competition from the US and China.
After the US explicitly banned central bank digital currency (CBDC) development in early 2025, the European Central Bank accelerated work on the digital euro but later said that digital cash would not launch before 2029.
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