2 weeks ago
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Rishi Sunak has offered the Irish Government a chance to join the Rwanda deportation scheme.
Sources close to the Prime Minister said “many countries are looking at a third country” as Europe grapples with an asylum crisis.
A diplomatic spat has opened up between London and Dublin amid claims migrants are crossing into Ireland from the UK.
Irish ministers have claimed asylum seekers are citing the threat of being deported to Rwanda as one of the main reasons they are travelling to the country.
A Downing Street source said: “If the Irish government believes the Rwanda plan is already having an effect, we can explore Ireland joining the Rwanda scheme. Many countries are looking at a third country now, which is why Sir Keir Starmer’s amnesty for 115,000 illegal immigrants a year is so shortsighted.”
Ireland had demanded the UK take back migrants who had crossed the Common Travel Area.
But Mr Sunak has refused – unless France agrees to take back Channel migrants.
No 10 sources confirmed Mr Sunak was working on a “statement of intent” with like-minded countries such as Italy and Denmark to explore “alternative and untested” schemes that would act as a deterrent to migrants. This includes deals where migrants’ claims are processed in third countries.
Irish ministers have dismissed the Rwanda scheme, despite also acknowledging its deterrent effect.
Micheál Martin, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, said: “I’ve been listening to Rwanda now for three years. We’re now talking about one person going there”.
The Daily Express on Tuesday revealed smugglers are helping Channel migrants avoid deportation to Rwanda by taking them to Dublin.
Asylum seekers camping in squalid conditions claimed UK-based criminals were charging up to £3,600 for passage from Belfast.
Among those living in a makeshift migrant camp near Ireland’s International Protection Office, was a Sudanese asylum seeker, Abdul, who fled a migrant hotel in London in 2022 after being told he would be on one of the original flights to Rwanda – before the policy was grounded for two years by legal challenges.
“I crossed because they want to send me to Rwanda. I don’t want to go.
“I crossed in a small boat.
“It is not safe. I was sent a letter in my hotel. I was in a hotel in London. I received the letter in 2022. I left the hotel, went to stay with my friend, then after that, I came here.
“I took a bus from London to Liverpool, then went from Liverpool to Belfast by boat. I then took a bus. I did it by myself.
“Every country in Africa is not safe. Before, did you know the story of Rwanda? It was very bad.
“I arrived in the UK in 2022. I stayed for two years. I arrived in Dublin 20 days ago. I went from London, to Belfast, to Dublin in one day.
“I am more confident about my position here than I am in the UK. Here, they don’t say anything.”
Migrants are also choosing other countries, other than Ireland, to avoid the threat of deportation to Rwanda, it is understood.
Married father-of-two Mohammed Alsafe, from the West Bank, revealed: “I crossed the border by car, someone drove me.
“I gave him money. That man, he tells me, give me money and come here. I gave him money in Belfast.
“I didn’t know where I was going. I was in the car, boxed up.
“In the UK, there are no visas. The Government will maybe make you go to Rwanda.
“I think the UK Government will pay for you to go to Rwanda.”
Asked about the smuggler, Mr Alsafe added: “I saw him on Facebook. I paid 4,300 Euros (£3,600) to take me from Belfast to Dublin.
“He was a UK person.”
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