New Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirms he wants to abandon plans to deport migrants to Rwanda

Keir Starmer says stop. The project to expel migrants to Rwanda, wanted by the previous Conservative government led by Rishi Sunak, will not survive the change of majority in the United Kingdom, and the arrival of the Labour Party in power. This project “was dead and buried before it even started. It was never a deterrent (…), I am not prepared to continue with gimmicky measures”said Keir Starmer, the new Prime Minister, on Saturday July 6, during a press conference after the first Council of Ministers.

When he was in opposition, the leader of the Labour Party had already announced his intention to end this controversial project launched in 2022, but never implemented. In the spring, the previous British Parliament had adopted a law allowing these expulsions, after a previous text was rejected by the country’s Supreme Court at the end of 2023. It planned to send migrants or asylum seekers to this East African country, without the possibility of returning to the United Kingdom.

The previous prime minister, Rishi Sunak, had planned to start deportations this summer, and authorities had begun arresting migrants who might be sent there in early May. With the general election in doubt, the courts had ordered the release of dozens of them. The issue of immigration was a major theme of the election campaign that has just ended in the United Kingdom.

Labour promised during the campaign to tackle illegal immigration, particularly the arrival of migrants on small boats via the Channel. The new government plans to deploy counter-terrorism-inspired resources to counter people-smuggling groups. And it wants to further strengthen cooperation with Europe, particularly France.

He also pledged to increase resources for processing asylum claims in the UK, which has been backlogged for years. More than 13,500 migrants have crossed the Channel to reach the UK so far this year.