Report: Rwanda Asylum Deal to Cost £1.8M Per Person

    Report: Rwanda Asylum Deal to Cost £1.8M Per Person
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    The Facts

    • The UK government's Rwanda Asylum scheme will cost taxpayers £1.8M ($2.3M) for each of the first 300 people deported to the East African nation, the National Audit Office (NAO) has found.

    • Under the policy, the UK will pay at least £370M ($467M) to Rwanda, with £150K ($189K) paid for each person sent there as part of the five-year bilateral agreement, the national watchdog said.


    The Spin

    Narrative A

    The national watchdog's figures are a scandal which Sunak and his government — who tried to keep them a secret — must be held accountable for. The Rwanda bill not only violates UK law, but is also a financially unbearable burden on the taxpayer. What's more, the unworkable and inhumane asylum system is ineffective at deterring people from illegally crossing into the UK. The staggering figures are the final straw that proves the Rwanda farce must be stopped.

    Narrative B

    The Rwanda bill is undoubtedly expensive, but it's a well-spent investment necessary to tackle the UK's growing migrant crisis. Those criticizing the scheme have yet to come up with a better solution, and it's only thanks to the resolute stance of the Sunak government that the number of illegal migrants crossing the channel dropped last year. Although costly, once allowed to take off the Rwanda policy will act as an effective deterrence to those who seek to illegally enter the county. National security doesn't come for free.

    Nerd narrative

    There is a 96% chance, that the UK will have a Labour government before June 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


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