Interior Minister Priti Patel defended the government’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda, telling critics to come up with a better idea.
Writing a joint article in The Times with Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta, Ms. Patel described her controversial plans as “bold and innovative.”
Under the new scheme, approved refugees will have to stay in Rwanda instead of returning to the UK, and those rejected by the Rwandan government will be deported.
It will be mostly for adults, but families can be sent there together in exceptional circumstances.
Image: Interior Minister Priti Patel and Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta
The idea has been criticized by many, including Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who said it was “ungodly”.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell used his Easter sermon to call it “depressing and anxious.”
Speaking at Easter, Mr Welby expressed concern about the idea and said there were “serious ethical issues regarding sending asylum seekers abroad”.
More on the passage of migrants
His views were supported by Mr Cottrell, who said that the United Kingdom “could do better than that” and that it was the people who exploited asylum seekers who the country had to “fight” against.
Image: The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby speaks at Easter
Read more: Why are migrants being sent to Rwanda and how will it work?
In a joint article, Ms Patel and Mr Biruta said it was “surprising that those institutions that criticize the plans have failed to come up with their own solutions” to tackling the small boats in the English Channel.
They continued to defend the scheme, saying: “This will disrupt the business model of organized crime gangs and deter migrants from putting their lives at risk.”
Politics is unlikely to achieve the government’s goals, says the Tory MP
Conservative MPs strongly supported the plans, but they were criticized by Labor politicians, human rights groups and the United Nations.
Some Tory MPs have suggested on Twitter that religious leaders stay out of politics, saying the two archbishops have crossed the line.
Cabinet Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested that the Archbishop of Canterbury had misunderstood the goals of the policy and that the government was “taking on a very difficult responsibility”.
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0:59 Accommodation of migrants in Rwanda
However, former Minister Andrew Mitchell, who serves as Sutton Coldfield MP, said that although he has “huge sympathy” for the government, politics is unlikely to achieve its goals.
“What worries me about Rwanda’s policy is that it will not achieve what they are looking for, it will also probably be terribly expensive, and at this point we have to worry a lot about taxpayers’ money,” he said.
Mr Mitchell added that the “danger” was that the United Kingdom would no longer be a “beacon in a terrible and difficult world” on which fugitives could rely to save them.
The first migrants are expected to be sent to Rwanda on a charter flight in May, but this could be postponed as the government expects legal challenges against the partnership.
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