The Home Secretary has defended the Government’s controversial agreement to send asylum seekers for processing to Rwanda as being “very unique” and “not like a trade deal”. “It’s not like a trade deal … We brought migration and economic development together for a migration and economic development partnership with Rwanda,” Ms Patel told The Sunday Telegraph. Following the £120 million economic deal being struck, cash for each removal is expected to follow. Since 2012, asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat without valid visas have been subject to offshore processing in Nauru or on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. Former prime minister Theresa May has questioned the legality of the Rwanda deal (Steve Parsons/PA)The Rwanda agreement has been criticised by senior Tories, Labour and church figures including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

Source: The Times April 24, 2022 05:13 UTC