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Johnson puts Navy in charge of Channel as he defends Rwanda migration plan

The Prime Minister accepted the plans to fly some asylum seekers more than 4,000 miles to East Africa will face legal challenges.

Sam Blewett
Thursday 14 April 2022 14:40 BST
(Matt Dunham/PA)
(Matt Dunham/PA) (PA Wire)

Boris Johnson has put the Navy in command of the English Channel, as he defended a multimillion-pound scheme to send some asylum seekers who make the crossing in small boats to Rwanda.

The Prime Minister conceded on Thursday that he expects plans to detain and fly migrants more than 4,000 miles on chartered planes to the East African country to be challenged in the courts.

But after widespread criticism from opposition MPs and refugee charities he denied the expected removal of thousands of people in the coming years at the expense of the taxpayer is ā€œdraconian and lacking in compassionā€.

Mr Johnson deflected repeated questions about the fine he has received for breaching his own coronavirus laws as he set out his migration plans in a speech in Kent.

He said the Royal Navy would from Thursday take over ā€œoperational commandā€ from Border Force in the Channel to ensure ā€œno boat makes it to the UK undetectedā€.

Around 250 to 300 military personnel will be dedicated to police migrants in the English Channel on busy days, it is understood. They will work on ships and aircraft and will include Army personnel, freeing up Border Force staff for processing.

An initial £120 million is expected to be given to the Rwandan government under an economic deal, with Home Secretary Priti Patel striking an agreement during a visit to the capital Kigali.

She said that the ā€œvast majorityā€ of those who arrive in the UK ā€œillegallyā€ will be detained and considered for relocation to Rwanda but declined to share specific details after it was reported it would only apply to male migrants.

The number of people who can be relocated will be ā€œunlimitedā€, with the first due to receive formal notifications within weeks, and the first flights expected to take place in the coming months.

Mr Johnson said the agreement is ā€œuncappedā€ and Rwanda will have the ā€œcapacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years aheadā€, including those who have arrived ā€œillegallyā€ since the start of the year.

He pledged Ā£50 million in new funding for boats, aerial surveillance and military personnel to help ensure the measures are a ā€œvery considerable deterrentā€ to crossings.

And he said the individuals who succeed in making it to the UK ā€œwill be taken not to hotels at vast public expenseā€ and instead will be housed in Greek-style detention centres, with the first opening ā€œshortlyā€.

Labour accused the Prime Minister of trying to distract from the partygate scandal with the ā€œunworkable, unethical and extortionateā€ migration scheme.

Charities condemned them as ā€œcruel and nastyā€ plans that will fail to address the issue and cause more ā€œsuffering and chaosā€, while criticising Rwanda’s human rights track record.

Mr Johnson said the partnership will be ā€œfully compliant with our international legal obligationsā€, while insisting Rwanda is ā€œone of the safest countries in the worldā€ and is ā€œglobally recognised for its record of welcoming and integrating migrantsā€.

ā€œBut nevertheless, we expect this will be challenged in the courts,ā€ Mr Johnson added, as he hit out at what he called a ā€œformidable army of politically motivated lawyersā€.

He said they have ā€œmade it their business to thwart removals and frustrate the Governmentā€ and have caused the UK to be ā€œseen as a soft touch for illegal migration by some of our partnersā€.

ā€œSo I know this system will not take effect overnight,ā€ Mr Johnson added.

Changes to domestic laws will be made to prevent ā€œrepeated unmeritorious legal claims often strung out over many yearsā€, the Government said.

Mr Johnson said there is a ā€œrisk of stereotypingā€ and told critics ā€œnot to think in a blinkered way about Rwandaā€.

ā€œRwanda has totally transformed over the last few decades, it’s a very, very different country from what it was,ā€ he said.

Meanwhile, fresh arrivals reached the shore in Dover on Thursday, in what officials acknowledged was a busy day for crossings. It is thought the total number of migrants to have arrived on small boats so far this year has passed 5,000.

Mr Johnson accepted the measure is not a ā€œmagic bulletā€ that will solve the crossings alone.

But he hopes it will break the business model of the ā€œvile people smugglersā€ who risk turning the Channel into a ā€œwatery graveyardā€.

The Prime Minister also conceded that the controversial ā€œpushbackā€ technique considered against migrant boats would be dangerous except in ā€œextremely limited circumstancesā€.

He said the Government would continue to press Paris and the EU for a ā€œcomprehensive returns agreement that would solve this problemā€ after Brexit.

The first of the stricter reception centres is expected to open within weeks at former RAF barracks in North Yorkshire.

It is thought the asylum seekers will be encouraged to relocate and rebuild their lives in Rwanda, rather than the UK, with more information on how the arrangement will work anticipated in the coming days.

British Red Cross executive director Zoe Abrams said the humanitarian network was ā€œprofoundly concernedā€ about the plans to ā€œsend traumatised people halfway round the world to Rwandaā€.

ā€œThe financial and human cost will be considerable – evidence from where offshoring has been implemented elsewhere shows it leads to profound human suffering, plus the bill that taxpayers will be asked to foot is likely to be huge,ā€ she added.

ā€œWe are not convinced this drastic measure will deter desperate people from attempting to cross the Channel either. People come here for reasons we can all understand, like wanting to be reunited with loved ones, or because they speak the language. Making it harsher may do little to stop them risking their lives.ā€

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, urged the Government to ā€œimmediately rethink its plansā€.

ā€œWe are appalled by the Government’s cruel and nasty decision to send those seeking sanctuary in our country to Rwanda,ā€ he said.

ā€œOffshoring the UK’s asylum system will do absolutely nothing to address the reasons why people take perilous journeys to find safety in the UK.

ā€œIt will do little to deter them from coming to this country, but only lead to more human suffering and chaos – at a huge expense of an estimated Ā£1.4 billion a year.ā€

But the Home Office questioned the figure, with a source saying it was ā€œludicrous to suggest costs would be more than the current systemā€.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called the plans ā€œunworkableā€, ā€œextortionateā€ and an attempt to distract from Mr Johnson being fined for breaching his own coronavirus laws.

The deal with Rwanda comes after other locations touted – including Ascension Island, Albania and Gibraltar – were rejected, at times angrily by the countries suggested.

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