Boris Johnson to send migrants from the Channel ‘straight to Rwanda’

Alexander Downer, one of the architects of the Howard-era Pacific solution and formerly Australia’s high commissioner in London, has just been appointed by the British government to review the country’s Border Force department.

Ministers have struggled to remove illegal Channel migrants once they arrive in Britain and have been accommodating them in hotels at a cost of £3.5 million ($6 million) a day.

They believe offshore processing will act as a deterrent to migrants who think it is difficult for the UK to remove them.

It is understood that under the deal, migrants who arrive in the UK will be flown to Rwanda to be processed and will be encouraged to settle there. The arrangement will initially cost £120 million, which compares with an annual £1.5 billion bill for asylum seekers in the UK.

“You are going to be met by the army. They will drive you to the airport and send you straight to Rwanda. That is where you are going to end up in the hope that would be enough to deter migrants,” said a source. “That is why the military comes in so you don’t have battles on the quayside.”

Britain has stressed that Rwanda is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa and is “recognised globally for its record on welcoming and integrating migrants”.

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Patel has flown to Kigali, the Rwandan capital, to announce the migration and economic development partnership.

Ministers are also expected to announce the first purpose-built reception centre in England where migrants will have to obey strict rules or lose their right to claim asylum.

The centre, on a former RAF base, will be modelled on camps for asylum seekers being built by Greece, where migrants face routine checks on their movements along with curfews to prevent absconding.

Municipal councils will also be given extra money to disperse asylum seekers.

In a draft of his speech, Johnson says: “Before Christmas, 27 people drowned, and in the weeks ahead there may be many more losing their lives at sea, and whose bodies may never be recovered.

“I accept that these people – whether 600 or 1000 – are in search of a better life; the opportunities that the United Kingdom provides and the hope of a fresh start. But it is these hopes – these dreams – that have been exploited.”

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Home Office officials are understood to be braced for a major backlash to the plans, while insisting the UK will be better able to support those fleeing genuine persecution by deterring illegal entry.

The Telegraph, London