Priti Patel, a senior official, told her it was “very uncertain” that sending migrants to Rwanda would reduce attempts to cross the English Channel the day before the policy was announced.
In a letter to the interior minister on Wednesday, Matthew Rycroft also said there was “uncertainty” about the “value for money”.
The permanent secretary at the interior ministry said the financial value “depends” on the policy being “effective as a deterrent”.
Image: Matthew Rycroft says he struggled to find evidence to prove the value of the money. Photo file
He added: “Evidence of a deterrent effect is very uncertain and cannot be quantified with sufficient certainty to provide me with the necessary level of certainty for the price / quality ratio.
Mr Rycroft said that while politics could deny migrants travel, “there is not enough evidence at the moment to conclude that it will happen”.
However, he added that he acknowledged that there were “potentially significant savings that need to be made by deterring people from (re) entering the UK illegally”.
After setting out his argument, he asked Ms Patel to “continue the written instruction”.
In his reply, the Secretary of State acknowledged that “it is not possible for HMG to accurately model the deterrent effect from day one”.
But she said she was confident that “this policy is our best chance to achieve this effect”.
A combination of “new incentives and effective deterrents” is needed to “fight criminal groups that facilitate illegal entry”, she added.
Image: People arriving in Dover on Sunday
Ms Patel said she acknowledged Mr Rycroft’s concerns about value for money.
But she added that “without action, costs will continue to rise” and there are “credible arguments for investing in savings in the long run”.
She concluded by saying that it would be “unwise” to “allow the lack of quantifiable and dynamic modeling” to delay the implementation of a policy we believe will reduce illegal migration, save lives and ultimately will break the business model of smuggling gangs. “
Ms Patel wrote: “I therefore formally direct you as an accountant to proceed with this scheme with immediate effect.
Image: Interior Minister Priti Patel and Rwanda Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta
The number of people arriving in small boats on Saturday was 252, according to a recent statement from the defense ministry.
He added that he “does not believe” that any of them “arrived on their own terms”.
Boris Johnson described the plan to transport migrants to Rwanda as “morally” the right thing to do, but the Archbishop of Canterbury condemned the scheme, saying it raised “serious ethical issues”.
The Rev. Justin Welby used his Easter sermon to say: “It cannot bear the brunt of our national responsibility as a country shaped by Christian values, because the transfer of our responsibilities to subcontractors, even to a country that seeks to cope good as Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God, who himself took responsibility for our failures. “
The British Red Cross said it was “deeply concerned” about sending “traumatized people around the world”.
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2:44 A look at the detention centers in Rwanda
Mr Rycroft said he acknowledged “the scale of the problem we are facing”.
He noted: “The asylum system costs the taxpayer more than £ 1.5 billion a year – the highest amount in more than two decades, and the current cost of hotels is around £ 4.7 million a day, including those have arrived through resettlement programs. “
He also said that he “made sure that this policy (Rwanda) continues regularly, correctly and feasibly”.
Ms Patel said she was concerned about the impact that dealing with high levels of illegal migration had on staff.
She wrote: “Every day I am amazed by the extremely challenging work we ask the staff of the Ministry of Interior and the operational staff of the Border Forces at all levels to do.
“With this in mind, I believe it is imperative to act now to mitigate the impact on staff well-being as well as operational and financial pressure on departments in the long run.”
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