Rishi Sunak has said he expects deportation flights to Rwanda to take off in the spring – despite reports that housing in the country intended for migrants has been sold off.
It came as the prime minister welcomed Rwandan president Paul Kagame to Number 10, where the pair reaffirmed their commitment to the controversial plans to send asylum seekers who arrive in the UK on small boats to the African nation.
In a statement following the talks, a Downing Street spokesperson said the duo discussed how the scheme would “break the business model of criminal gangs risking lives at sea” and said Mr Sunak had updated Mr Kagame on “the next stages of the legislation in parliament”.
“Both leaders looked forward to flights departing to Rwanda in the spring,” the spokesperson added.
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Mr Sunak’s scheme has faced a string of setbacks in recent months, including at the Supreme Court, which ruled the policy unlawful in November.
Peers in the House of Lords have also been amending the bill to give courts a greater ability to question the safety of Rwanda following last year’s judgment.
Further questions over the viability of the scheme were raised this morning when The Times reported that most of the properties on a new housing estate in Rwanda that had been earmarked for migrants had been sold to local buyers.
The newspaper claimed that “sold” signs had appeared outside houses on the Bwiza Riverside estate in Kigali, the country’s capital, which was visited by Suella Braverman in March 2023 when she was home secretary.
It quoted developer ADHI-Rwanda as saying that 70% of the 163 affordable homes had now been taken by “private people who want to live in them”.
Ms Braverman, who was sacked from her post last year, told LBC that she was “disappointed to read that expectations have fallen and that the Rwandans are now selling off some of those properties”.
She added: “The way the plan should work – and the plan that I put forward to the prime minister – is that we need to have a large number of flights going to Rwanda on a regular basis, with a large number of passengers on them.
“I do believe that we may well get a flight off, a token flight with a low number of passengers on it, to Rwanda – that’s not deterrence.”
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Rwanda government spokesperson Yolande Makolo denied the claims and said: ”It is simply not true that 70% of the houses are sold.
“Regardless, Bwiza Riverside Estate is just one of the housing options where migrants will live alongside Rwandans. None of the assigned housing estates were ever meant to be only for migrants. The idea is to integrate migrants into Rwandan communities, not create migrant ghettos.”
Stephen Kinnock, Labour’s shadow immigration minister, said: “The half a billion-pound Rwanda scheme is a failing farce, which will only cover less than one per cent of asylum arrivals.
“Now it seems there will be even less capacity to house those that are removed. The Tories’ so-called plan is unravelling by the day and taxpayers are footing the bill.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “As the government of Rwanda have made repeatedly clear, they stand ready to host thousands of migrants under the partnership.
“The scheme is uncapped and provisions are in place to provide accommodation as required. We remain focussed on getting flights off the ground as soon as possible.”
The government’s Rwanda bill is due to be put before the Commons next week when MPs return from the Easter recess – and as migrants continue to cross the Channel in small boats. More than 80 made the journey on Monday.
