Tories spent £50m on Rwanda deportation flights that never took off

The last government spent £50m on Rwanda deportation flights that never took off, new figures reveal.

This included the cost of securing the flights, escorts to force migrants onto the planes and preparing and securing the airfields, Home Office documents show.

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Spending on the asylum scheme overall reached £715m before it was scrapped by Labour after the general election in July.

Other costs outlined include £290m paid to Rwanda’s government, £95m on detention and reception centres and £280m on IT, staffing and legal fees.

The figures were published as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper gave a statement on migration in the House of Commons.

She said 84,000 people made small boat journeys from the day the Rwanda deal was signed to the day it was axed.

“This so-called deterrent did not result in a single deportation or stop a single boat crossing the Channel,” she said.

“For the British taxpayer, it was a grotesque waste of money.”

Initially launched by Boris Johnson in April 2022, the Rwanda plan was designed to deport migrants who had come to the UK after crossing the English Channel in a small boat to the landlocked east African country.

Its purpose was to deter further crossings in small boats, but its opponents claimed there was a lack of evidence it would have this effect.

By the time of the general election, and two prime ministers later, the scheme was not operational after facing several legal challenges.

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer scrapped it almost immediately upon taking office, saying the money would be diverted into a new Border Security Command aimed at smashing criminal people-smuggling gangs.

More than 20,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since his election win, figures published on Sunday show.

The total for the year is now 33,684, with more crossings since the five months Labour have been in power than the first six months of 2024 when the Conservatives were in government.

However, Labour sources said the 13,574 crossings from January to July were “unprecedented” for that time of year and were a 19% increase on the same period in 2023, 5% higher than 2022 and more than double 2021.

They added that weather played a “significant part” in the high number over the summer.

In her Commons statement, Ms Cooper pledged to “restore order” to the migration system, saying a recent “landmark deal” struck with Iraq will help stem the number of illegal migrants coming to the UK.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said an “effective deterrent for illegal migration” – such as the Rwanda plan – are among the ideas her party are considering as they set out a “new approach” on migration.