Rwanda has launched legal action against the British government after Labour scrapped the asylum deal between the two countries, potentially leaving UK taxpayers with a bill of more than £50 million. The dispute is being handled at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands.
The legal claim focuses on the UK government's alleged failure to formally terminate the agreement in 2024. Under the original deal signed in 2022 by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel, a series of staged payments were to be made to Rwanda. The UK had already paid £290 million directly to the Rwandan government, with a further £50 million due in April last year, which is believed to be at the centre of the dispute.
Rwanda lodged a 'notice of arbitration' with the court in November, naming the country's minister of justice and attorney general, Dr Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, as the claimants' representative. The Rwandan government has instructed Lord Verdirame KC, a crossbench peer, while the Home Office has instructed Ben Juratowitch of Essex Court Chambers.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticised Labour's decision, saying it was 'yet another catastrophic consequence' of scrapping the Rwanda scheme. He added that the deal was ready for flights to take off and that ditching it was 'a borderline act of treachery'. The aborted scheme has already cost UK taxpayers £715 million, according to Home Office figures.
A government spokesman said: 'We will robustly fight this in the courts to protect British taxpayers.' The legal action comes after Labour abandoned the deal, which was intended to send Channel small boat migrants to Rwanda, and was followed by a surge in migrant crossings.
