Rwanda migrant scheme

The new U.K. government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has scrapped the controversial Rwanda migrant plan initiated by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which was criticized for its exorbitant costs. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper revealed that taxpayers had already spent £700 million ($905 million) on the plan, which included payments to Rwanda and costs of chartered flights that never took off. The original Conservative government had projected a total expenditure of £10 billion for the scheme, aimed at curbing asylum seekers arriving by small boats, but faced significant legal challenges. Cooper emphasized the need to process the tens of thousands of asylum claims that were left unresolved and announced the reversal of provisions from the Illegal Migration Act that barred asylum applications from those arriving illegally. The scrapping of the plan reflects a shift in policy focus towards addressing the backlog of asylum claims rather than deportation. Critics from the previous government have disputed Cooper's figures, but no alternative costings were provided.