Protesters have campaigned against plans to send migrants to Rwanda
(Picture: PA Wire)A Foreign Office official has criticised the government’s highly controversial plan to send migrants to Rwanda, court documents reveal.
In a document the government is hoping to keep secret, they warned of Rwanda’s state control, “arbitrary detention, torture and even killings”, the Guardian reports.
The government has alleged that disclosing the contents could damage international relations and threaten national security.
It has made an application to the high court for a public interest immunity (PII) certificate, to keep 10 short passages confidential.
But three media companies - BBC, the Times and the Guardian - are fighting to have them revealed, citing public interest reasons.
A group of organisations and asylum seekers who oppose the Rwanda plan are supporting the transparency of the documents.
A draft ruling into the application is expected on Wednesday.
Neil Sheldon QC, acting for the foreign secretary, told the court that the application was only to keep short passages out of the public domain and that most of the documents about the Rwanda plans have been disclosed, the Guardian reports.
Christopher Knight, representing some of the claimants, said some criticisms in the documents “are quite stark”.
He cited one document from a Foreign Office official which states: “There are state control, security, surveillance structures from the national level down to [households]. Political opposition is not tolerated and arbitrary detention, torture and even killings are accepted methods of enforcing control too.”
A full high court hearing into the lawfulness of the Rwanda scheme, designed to curb the stream of migrants arriving in Britain in boats across the English Channel, is scheduled for September 5.
Both Tory leadership hopefuls Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak said they support the plan. Britain currently stands to lose the £120 million it has paid to Rwanda if the plan to deport migrants is ruled unlawful by the courts.
The first flight of migrants bound for Rwanda from the UK was stopped at the eleventh hour in June after a series of legal challenges, and another attempt is yet to be scheduled.
More than 13,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel since Priti Patel announced her plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
