Court rejects Rwanda’s £100m claim against UK over migrant deal

AN INTERNATIONAL court on Monday rejected Rwanda’s claim that Britain still owed more than £100 million under the scrapped migrant deportation deal.

Judges at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled that Britain was not liable for two years of outstanding payments linked to the scheme, which was shelved in 2024.

“The UK robustly defended its position and the tribunal has now ruled in favour of the UK on all grounds,” a government spokesman in London said.

“We are now focused on delivering vital reforms to restore order and control to our borders, including removing the incentives drawing illegal migrants to Britain and scaling up removals of those with no right to be here,” he added in a statement to AFP.

In 2022, former UK prime minister Boris Johnson signed a deal with Kigali to send migrants arriving in Britain through “dangerous or illegal journeys” in small boats or lorries to Rwanda.

The scheme faced legal and political challenges from the beginning, with the UK Supreme Court later ruling it illegal.

After Keir Starmer became prime minister in July 2024, he declared the policy “dead and buried” on his first full day in office and called it a “gimmick”.

Then home secretary Yvette Cooper described it as “the most shocking waste of taxpayers’ money I have ever seen”.

According to the current UK government, only four people went to Rwanda during the two years before the scheme was scrapped, and all travelled voluntarily.

The UK government website says about £290 million has already been paid to Rwanda. Kigali argued in pre-hearing submissions to the PCA that two annual payments of £50 million each were still due.

However, the PCA, established in 1899 to settle contractual disputes between nations, rejected by majority a £50 million claim for one year and unanimously rejected the same amount for the second year.

Britain and Rwanda are also facing tensions after the UK reduced aid to Rwanda, accusing it of supporting M23 rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).