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UK taxpayers have been billed a further £100m for Rishi Sunak’s beleaguered Rwanda deal despite no planes taking off.
The government spent the eyewatering sum in the 2023-24 financial year as the plan to deport asylum seekers to Kigali was hit by a series of legal setbacks.
An additional £50m is expected to be spent in the next financial year, taking the total cost of the scheme so far to £290m.
The revelation is likely to heap more pressure on the embattled prime minister as he fights to hold the Tory Party together and battles for his political future.
The Home Office said the cash had been spent as part of the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund agreed with Rwanda but was “entirely separate” from the new treaty signed in Kigali this week.
Labour branded the revelation “incredible”.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror reports that some 18 Tories have submitted no confidence letters in the PM as he faces a rebellion on both wings of his party, with MPs unhappy about a draft law published by the government which Mr Sunak claimed would make the Rwanda deal work.
Rwanda legislation given ‘50% at best’ chance of success
Rishi Sunak’s emergency Rwanda legislation has been given only a “50 per cent at best” chance of successfully getting removal flights off next year in an official legal assessment for the government.
Attorney general Victoria Prentis has been told that the legislation leaves a significant risk of the European Court of Human Rights blocking planes to Kigali, the Times first reported.
The assessment is likely to toughen the prime minister’s battle to get his divided Tory MPs to support his new Bill that he hopes will revive the stalled £290 million policy.
Read more:
Taxpayers foot £300k energy bill for MPs’ second homes
Reminder: MPs have charged taxpayers almost £300,000 for energy bills and other utilities at their second homes over the past year, a new analysis by The Independent found:
Poll gives Labour huge lead
Labour are up one point and the Conservatives are down three, according to the latest polling, giving Labour a 20-point lead:
Britain facing surge of salmonella cases because of Brexit, union warns
Recap: Sunak rules out quitting ECHR as Braverman attacks
Rishi Sunak ruled out a radical move to opt out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – despite a rebellion by the Tory right that threatens his ‘plan B’ Rwanda legislation:
Analysis: The questions Rishi Sunak will face at the Covid inquiry
Rishi Sunak and the Treasury put up some resistance to lockdown measures, on economic grounds, during Covid. On the other hand, they spent £800m on the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. Sean O’Grady looks at what the prime minister will be quizzed on:
Bishops in Lords urged to ditch robes
Bishops in the House of Lords have been encouraged to “modernise their attire and look more normal” by ditching their robes.
Conservative former cabinet minister Virginia Bottomley offered the advice to the Church of England bishops who sit in the upper chamber as peers took part in the annual debate led by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone said: “I passionately want the Lords spiritual to remain but I do not think they enhance their prospects by looking like a Persil advertisement.
“I have spoken to virtually every bishop about removing the robes. You don’t need to wear them.
“So long as the bishop saying prayers — officiating – is wearing a robe, you can then keep the Robing Room, but all the others really should modernise their attire and look more normal, even though in their dog collars and very attractive shirts.”
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
Half voters don’t think Rwanda plan is value for money
Voters are sceptical about whether the government’s Rwanda migrants plan represents good value for money, a poll shows.
In a YouGov survey, nearly half of those questioned (49%) said it was not. Only one in five (20%) said it was, while the other 30% did not know.
Nearly two-thirds of Labour voters disagreed it was value for money, while only slightly more Tory voters said it was not value for money - 36% against 35% who thought it was.
Police investigate professor’s call to ‘blow up’ Jewish Labour meeting
Police are investigating a post by a retired university professor calling on someone to “blow up” a Jewish Labour Movement meeting:
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2023-12-09 07:02:36Z
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